The Prince and The Strategist
by Sunset Ezmar
Summary: They met at 10, became guard and protégé at 12, and at 14 she disappeared. Because he was too proud. Because she was too stubborn… Now, 5 years later, their story begins anew.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, I would be rich by now if I did.

* * *

 **Prologue**

Almost five years had passed since the last time he saw her, and it was in days like this (cloudy and rainy to the point it was almost depressing) that he couldn't help but remember her reading by the window; looking almost absentminded to anyone who didn't know her, but vigilant as hawk to him, because he understood perfectly well that the cornice was a good look out post.

Five years meant that she had been gone longer than what they had known each other. The last image he had of her was a pair of silver-blue eyes shining with unshed tears and fury, steel like determination that took her to the other side of the world, away from Hyrule and away from him. So even now, by remembering her face, he understood how childish he had been at that time. It was never worth losing a friend in exchange of recognition, he had withered the small bud blooming between them both while losing the future they could have had together; and above else, he had lost the brightness so common of her, that steadfast light capable of tear apart the shadows in his soul, driving him to try harder to become better.

He had been blind, he had been proud, and he had paid with solitude for his stupidity.

That didn't mean his life went from bad to worse since she left the country, it was just difficult in the beginning. He never understood how much had she formed part of his life until she was gone. But as time passed by and life continued its cycle he learned to live with the consequences of his acts, he learned to live with the consequences of his acts and kept going on hoping she would forgive him for his foolishness, knowing far too well that her friendship had been one of the truest things in his world and nursing, without knowing, the broken heart of a love never bound to grow.

But five years were long gone and for someone of his age five years were too much to wait. Her memory ever so dear became a relic of the past, a bittersweet reminder of what he could lose if he didn't stop to think the consequences of his actions, a constant memento of his present lack of allies.

Even though he didn't think it was possible he still wished he could see her again and apologise.

The prince shook his head, dispersing the ghost of his young and returning to his deskwork, he decided to never have a personal guard after her departure. But now, as he started to revise the meetings for tomorrow and the agreements in momentary stand by, he thought it was silly of him to keep that ideology as he was to be crowned soon. He couldn't keep mourning for long gone friendships and moping over his mistakes. For the sake of his kingdom and his people he was going to be strong, no matter how much it cost him.

No, Prince Link of Hyrule didn't expect to see her again.

* * *

It had been a long day for her, harder than others in some ways, better than others in some others. She had passed all day long helping the old couple who had let her stay at their house for the winter with their responsibilities on the farm; it had been hard work, very exhaustive, but Zelda was proud to say that she endured it better than others. After all, being a wanderer has to have its good points. Working in the farm had been fun; the smiles of the elders shinned bright in her mind and the soothing sounds of the animals end up engraved in her soul; it had been another special memory, it was a shame she couldn't stay forever.

It was at times like these, when she had to say goodbye to whoever helped her, that she felt with more clarity the scars of the old wounds. It didn't hurt anymore, the pain had been unbearable at the beginning, but now it made her wish for a place to call her own.

Once upon a time she had had one… she still wished she could go back.

Her pack was already made, her plan was to part early in the morning, even before sunrise. The old couple was informed and her goodbyes were all bid. There was nothing else to do but sleep her melancholy way until the time of depart arrived… but she couldn't, it was always the same every time she got attached to someone; she should have known better than that now, but it seemed she was unable to learn in that area.

Thus, she stayed awake, perched by the window ledge – even though it was slightly uncomfortable –, reading a book the farm's grandma donated her since she discovered how much her guest liked to read.

Only two years she had nurtured that habit and she still couldn't grow out of it, there was no more royalty to protect anymore, why would it matter if she read on her bed or by the window? She was too stubborn for her own good.

Lifting her gaze to the peaceful prairie she could see from her window, she wondered absentminded why she felt more dispirited this time around (it was not the first – and probably it won't be the last – time she had to leave a place she had taken a like to), maybe it was because of the farmer grandpa. He was too stern, almost to the point of being hilarious, his demeanour reminded her of Impa: Hyrule's Lady High Chancellor; so strict and so caring that it was nearly contradictory. Impa had been a family friend, the only reason she was able to get as close to the prince as she did.

Or maybe it was because she was currently at the border Termina shared with Hyrule.

Or maybe it was because it was going to be spring really soon, and his birthday was in spring. He was bound to be crowned this year, he will be 19 after all.

Didn't she promise to be there when it happened? They had parted in bad terms five years ago, but… Wasn't she someone who kept her promises? She had never promised to be with him forever since the beginning she desired to travel around the world, but, only that once, she had promised him something for the future.

And she, Zelda. Prided herself of not being a liar.

Maybe it was time to go back Hyrule.

* * *

 _That's the prologue, it was actually a story that I wrote I don't remember when and recently I decided to share it with the world... just for fun, I hope you like it._

 _Anyway, this is not a role reversal, Zelda is still the wisdom triforce holder and Link has courage as well, I just make him a Prince instead of Zelda. I have the feeling that if it were like that in the game Link would be really responsable with his duties and Zelda would love to see the world and become an explorer just for the sake of adquiring knowledge, that's it._

 _I love constructive criticism, and please tell me if you see any grammar mistake, I'm not a native speaker, so I have to be reaaally careful while writing, it takes a little of the fun of it._

 _Best wishes!_


	2. By Royalty's Side

_Disclaimer:_ Did it on the prologue but I'll do it again. The Legend of Zelda doesn't belong to me, if it did Zelda would have more stage light, I believe she would make an awesome sidekick, she has the brains after all. Oh! The image doesn't belong to me either, I found it on pinterest, I think is beautiful and suits my idea for this story. So no, I won't take the credit for it, whoever draw it is amazing and deserves the praise. I just hope he or she doesn't mind me using it as a cover.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: By Royalty's Side**

Being royalty was a pain, if Link had any option on the matter, he wouldn't have minded being a peasant. But he didn't, so dwelling into it was a loss of time. Furthermore, it made him bitter about his responsibilities and he loved Hyrule and its people far too much to do that to them.

Therefore, early council meetings were a must on his daily to do list. The upside of it was that soon he will be crowned, then the councilmen will stop then looking at Impa to ratify every single decision he made. Oh, yes. He was so looking forward to it.

In the meantime, he will let them complain everything they wanted, at least they did their jobs decently. Impa is a smart woman after all, he knew how much she had worked to help him bring stability to the country after his parents demise. She ensured that every councilman was honest and reliable in their different specialities. He owed her a lot, she made sure he was raised up to be responsible, dignified, educated and brave. She even tried to help him feel like any boy of his age…

It didn't work, but the intention was appreciated.

Currently, the main discussion was about pumpkins.

\- "All I'm saying, Lady Impa, is that we cannot keep on helping them. Ordon is a self-sufficient, autonomous village as per whish of his Majesty Arn VI, blessed be his soul. They don't even pay any tax! What good will it come from it?" – was saying the Minister of Agriculture.

\- "There was a reason for his Majesty giving them such privilege, Lord Galmon. Or are you suggesting his Majesty was partial to them." – There was a dangerous edge in Impa's voice, she had always been extremely loyal to his deceased father.

\- "Of course not my Lady, but this is a burden we cannot impose to our people. The winter is barely ending and last year's harvest was not as prosperous as we expected. We must recover first before helping other people."

\- "We are still trading with the zoras, the gorons and the gerudos last time I checked."

\- "Yes, of course. But that's not charity my Lady, is commerce."

Impa's eyebrow twitched imperceptibly and Link sighed quietly. By now, Lord Galmon should know better than to show contempt to the High Chancellor. It never ended well.

\- "We are not suggesting charity, Lord Galmon" – Link tried to soothe the rapidly approaching conflict - "we are trying to negotiate with them. They have their own produce.

\- "With all due respect, my Prince," – intersected Lord Tramil, the Economic and Finance Minister – "but pumpkins and goat's cheese is barely a produce worth of mentioning…

\- "And even so, Lord Tramil," - interrupted Lord Hayland, Minister of Health – "most of the hyrulian population considers them very healthy and nutritious. I'm sure the gerudos won't mind buying some of them themselves."

\- "How is this a fact?" – Lord Galmon was sceptical.

Lord Hayland was opening his mouth, with an obvious intention of answering not so gallantly, but Lord Ubrio – Minister of Development – avoided the clash by clearing his throat.

\- "Our department took upon itself, by request of his Majesty Link here present, to make a survey about the subject." – Some ministers looked at Link in disbelief, they still couldn't understand how someone so young could be meticulous. – "As a result, 80% percent of the adult population affirmed they would gladly buy the ordonian produce as, they said, it is of great quality, rich and delicious."

\- "When was this survey made? And why were we not informed?" – great, Lord Galmon was starting to feel offended.

\- "Don't fret, minister Galmon." – intervened Link – "It was just a trial and error situation, only to ascertain the viability of the proposal. I would never suggest an outrageous treaty to this council, the welfare of Hyrule is my main priority after all."

Silence issued in the conference room, it unnerved Link how incredulous his councilmen were of his competence as a future regent of this kingdom. Of course Impa was the walking portrait of competency, but that didn't make him incapable of ruling, you sassy bunch of old men.

\- "I, Impa, High Chancellor of Hyrule, support the treaty proposal of his Highness, Prince Link IV of Hyrule. Those in favour of wide open our exchange with Ordon, please raise your hands."

11 of 14, more than the 75% of the council. Link was surprised to even see Sir Lerroy, Head of the Hyrulian army and Minister of Defence, with his hand raised. He usually didn't care about these kinds of proposals as long as they didn't concern the army.

\- "We have an obvious majority. The treaty will be signed the first day of next month when the ordonian commission led by Mayor Bo comes to prepare for the upcoming Spring Festival. That will be all for today, you are dismissed." – Concluded Impa the council reunion, leaving no room for arguments.

Link softly left out a breath he didn't remember holding. Mayor Bo was a great ally of Hyrule's crown, the refusal of the treaty would have affected greatly the long friendship between him and his father that Mayor Bo, ever so kindly, had extended to Link. More so because the winter had been more unforgiving to Ordon than to Hyrule, Zora's Domain, Death Mountain and Gerudo Dessert combined.

A hard discussion about pumpkins, indeed.

\- "You did well." – Complimented him Impa while they both watched the councilmen march out of the room.

\- "I'm glad you think so, by the way the others react it would seem as if I'm still 5 years old and trying to give them an economy lesson."

\- "They watched you grow up, you cannot blame them for feeling that way." – Shrugged Impa.

\- "I don't mind their surprise, is their disbelief that bothers me." – A frown founds its way to his visage.

\- "Some of them were your tutors not so long ago." – She pointed

\- "That doesn't justify their reactions to all the decisions I make."

\- "No, it doesn't. But it doesn't make it easier for them."

\- "I'm 18 now, almost 19. I will be crowned soon, remember?" – He was sulking now, it made Impa lift the corners her mouth, her own personal way of laughing.

\- "My point exactly."

She was just trying to rub him the wrong way now, he was sure of it.

Leaving the subject aside, or trying to avoid more arguments most certainly, Impa headed down to the door - obviously expecting him to walk with her -, while addressing a different matter.

\- "That aside his Royal Highness, may I inquire about your schedule for today?" – both nodded at the guards posted outside of the conference room, who greeted them in response.

\- I have some letters left to write for Princess Ruto, Chief Darunia and Queen Midna. I'm planning to review the cases Lord Gurnet brought to me yesterday too, they are not to be taken lightly if the reports result to be truth. – Link frowned a little, thinking about the cases.

Apparently there was a man called Ganondorf who was steadily conquering small feuds at the border of Calatia and Lorule. It wasn't an urgent matter yet, as it hadn't affected the countries as a whole, but in the case this man proved to be a real threat by conquering any of these two kingdoms, Hyrule might be obligated to take action.

\- "Are you talking about the report concerning that man called Ganondorf?"

\- "Yes, it concerns me."

\- "He is just a revolutionary." – Impa sighed in exasperation – "We have nothing to worry about."

\- "Not yet. But I'm afraid I have a bad feeling about this man."

\- "You are exaggerating."

\- "Maybe, but I prefer the term "overcautious". In fact, this man has never failed any conquest campaign he has embarked before. It worries me that none of our allies is doing something about it." – Possibilities jungled in Link's brain, this man, Ganondorf seemed to be an enemy not to be taken lightly.

\- "Even so, right now that's Calatia's and Lorule's problem. We have a recession to get over of. Furthermore, you have already sent emissaries to question the gerudos."

The man in question was said to come from gerudo ascension. Link had, indeed, send emissaries to question Matriarch Nabooru about the subject. He had no response, yet.

\- "I have."

\- "Good, now allow me to take some time from your busy schedule."

It took Link by surprise that Impa asked for his permission, usually she just barged into his office without previous announcement.

\- "It must be important."

\- "You could say it is, after all it's a private matter." – It wondered Link how Impa looked almost _nervous_ – "Meet me at my quarters as soon as possible."

Puzzled, Link blinked a little bit before agreeing. The last time he was inside of Impa's living quarter he had been 13 years old and oblivious of how indecent it was to be in the room of a full grown up woman. If Impa was now taking the risk of asking for such a meeting it had to be important… or dangerous… he preferred important.

* * *

Thirty minutes and a cup of tea later, he found himself knocking Impa's quarters door. A trusted steward from Impa's personnel – and someone, Link knew, she used to spy on the castle staff – greeted him at the door.

\- "Is your master here?" – He had to ask.

No matter how much of a respected High Chancellor she was, Link knew she had too much Sheikah blood in her veins to act as such in close confidence.

\- "Yes, your Highness. My Lady is waiting for you."

\- "Very well."

He led him to the door on the right side of the sitting room, the High Chancellor private office. Knocked twice and waited.

\- "State your business" – came the rough answer.

\- "His Highness, Prince Link is here, my Lady." – The steward whose name, if Link remember correctly, was Sheik, seemed perfectly used to his Mistress demeanour.

\- "Let him in."

Sheik opened the door, nodded at him, and took a step aside to let him enter the study.

The lighting was dim inside, perfect for writing reports without hurting the eyes. Just as expected from the workaholic Chancellor. Link made a mental note to ask how she keept it that way later.

Impa was furiously writing a letter at the moment, so she didn't look up when she told him to take a sit by the cheerful and inviting fireplace. It took him back a few years, when he was 7 years old and his parents had just passed away. He would come to her office to escape from the loneliness of his room, and while she was busy working on affairs of state he would review his classes in silence, trying to please his new foster parent – if she could be called that – and afraid of making her angry.

Acknowledging his actual age, he should feel offended of her mannerism. But he knew better, Impa was just too formal, even with those she hold dear.

After a while of getting comfortable on the cozy armchair, Impa finished writing and came to joint him by the fire, sitting on the opposite furniture.

\- "Link…" - first name, no title, it was bad news. – "Don't make that face, no one is dying."

\- "If you say so, just let me tell you that it has been long since the last time I pulled a prank on anyone in the castle."

The corners of her mouth twitched slightly. Good, they were on safe ground.

\- "Do I have to worry about someone outside the castle?"

\- "Depends on your definition of worry."

Wrong thing to say, her eyes were narrowing.

\- "Any girl I should be aware of?"

\- "Besides Epona?"

\- "Link…"

\- "I'm still a virgin if that's what you're asking for." – He could feel the heat crawling up his neck, but he pretended not to notice while he avoided her scrutiny by looking at the dancing flames.

\- "While that's reassuring to know," – Impa deadpanned – "that's not the reason why I asked you to come here."

\- "That would be…"

\- "I talked with Sir Lerroy yesterday, he said you two discussed the possibility of naming a personal guard for you in the incoming days."

Busted it seemed.

\- "I didn't want to tell you about it just yet."

\- "Why so? A personal guard is a great idea. I do approve it."

\- "I knew you would, but I thought…"

\- "That it might hurt my feelings?" – Impa blinked in silence amusement – "It's been almost five years since I appointed Zelda as your personal guard, it's perfectly comprehensible to seek someone to replace her."

\- "She was my friend Impa, and I screw everything up."

The High Chancellor crinkled her nose at his usage of slang.

\- "Stop playing with those kids from the army, will you?"

Link sighed exasperatedly, trying hard to supress the teenage hidden behind the prince.

\- "They are not kids anymore Impa, and we don't "play", we duel." – Impa narrowed her eyes at him, but he wasn't backing down on this one – "I admit Groose is not the best example to follow, but Pipit, Fledge and Cawlin are better company… Pipit more than the other two, but you understand what I'm saying."

\- "Fine, I'll concede you that argument. Be careful with your language."

\- "I'll keep it in mind," – and before she could keep on scolding him, he added, - "what were you saying about the personal guard?"

\- "Yes," - she cleared her throat – "about it. Even though you are perfectly capable of defending yourself, no offence to Sir Lerroy, but you are better with the sword than any of his warriors; having a personal guard will be good for you. What happened with Zelda was regrettable, but you both were too young to take your roles seriously, it's understandable. Even Zelda herself doesn't blame you anymore..."

He could understand what Impa was saying, at that time he had been childish. He had been obsessed with being the best in everything he did, he had not appreciated how much of a relief it was to have someone by you side, always ready to help you. He had called her hindrance, even when she tried her best to be of help in her own way. It was a miracle she didn't blame him for it…

Wait. He froze over for a moment.

\- "What do you mean by: "she doesn't blame you anymore"?" – he asked, fury slowly brewing in his stomach – "How long have the two of you been in contact?"

Impa looked at him with a serious, unreadable expression.

\- "Since the beginning, of course. I am her godmother after all."

He wanted to flip over the tea table in front of him, but decided against it at the last moment. He resigned himself to pace up and down the study.

Of course Impa would keep contact with Zelda! How naïve he had been by thinking otherwise! When she was alive, Zelda's mother was the only woman known to be friends with Impa. It was silly to think the High Chancellor would leave to her devises the only child of her dear friend.

No, truth to be told, that was not why he was getting worked up. It was perfectly logical of Impa to keep contact with Zelda even if she was at the other side of the world. No, that was not the reason he felt upset. He felt upset because he had been petty. While he was moping about lost friendships and irreparable bonds, Zelda – being Zelda – was exchanging letters with his almost foster mother. Possibly asking about his welfare while giving him the space he had asked for… and he didn't inquire about her to the only woman who she could have been in contact. He had just assumed that, as Impa never talked about the subject, there was no way to communicate.

He could have fixed everything years ago, for someone so capable in swordsmanship and matters of state, Link could be unbelievable clueless with his own personal life.

His fury simmered down leaving him tired and fed up, it was too early to feel that way.

\- "Why didn't you tell me?" – was the first thing he asked after sitting back.

\- "Would you have listen to me at that time?"

They both knew the answer was _no_.

\- "Still, there was plenty of time to tell me about it. Is not like I am the same as back then."

\- "Indeed, you have changed. Do you need tea?"

Yes, he did.

\- "Please."

Impa ringed a small bell on the tea table and, ten seconds after that, Sheik brought a teapot full of jasmine tea – Impa's favorite –, two porcelain cups and some biscuits. This must be the reason why Impa likes him so much, was Link's first thought after seeing Sheik serve the tea with a mastery unbecoming of his age. He couldn't be much older than Link, but still he seemed to know what her mistress wanted before she even say it.

Feeling more relaxed after sipping his tea, Link thought back about Zelda's personality. As a girl, she had been quiet – which suited him very much as he has never been a man of many words –, overly curious, and very proactive. He never understood that part of her personality, quiet people are supposed to be shy. But Zelda was everything but shy. Every time she put her mind into accomplish something, without fail it was done.

If she had decided to fix their relationship since the beginning, Link was sure she would have been able to do it. That was the main reason he was so sure their situation was unfixable. She never tried to contact him or come back, it was a clear sign that she hated him.

But Impa said Zelda wrote her about it and told her she didn't blame him. Why?

\- "Why did she ask you not to tell me about your mail exchange?"

\- "How are you so sure she asked me such a thing?"

Link looked at Impa's unreadable expression, the only thing that gave her away was the proud glimmer in her eyes. He had guessed right.

\- "That's the only reason you would have hidden it from me."

\- "You are right. At the beginning, it was to not fracture our relationship, we knew you would feel betrayed if the letters came to your knowledge."

\- "And later…"

\- "I believe she came to understand her own mistakes. She wanted to give you the space you needed. She never really asked me not to tell you, she just told me not to mention it unless you inquired about it. You never did, so I didn't either."

\- "I'd been an idiot," – Link hid his face behind his hands – "I didn't need that much space."

\- "I believe you did." – He skeptically stared at her. – "You both did, actually. Stop looking at me that way, I know what I'm talking about. At that time, you were all too eager to earn recognisance, always saying you could do everything alone. You needed to learn to not expect everyone's approval and how much help you always need. Humans, zoras, gorons, gerudos, and even hylians have limits, that's the reason we live in society, after all."

Link let a puff out, he understood perfectly what was Impa telling him about, but…

\- "What about Zelda?"

\- "That girl," - her eyes glazed over, and Link felt a lump in his throat – "she became a wandering soul after her mother's dead. She needs to learn where her home is."

\- "Needs? Do you think she doesn't know yet?"

\- "No, not yet. But maybe you could help her."

Link sighed.

\- "You sound so sure. But I'm not of much help if I cannot see her, am I? I'm not an adventurer who can run around every corner of the world as he pleases, to go and find her wherever she is."

\- "That, I know. Lucky for you, she is coming back for your coronation. That's the reason why I requested you to come to my office in the first place. She asked me to tell you: "I always fulfil my promises", her words exactly."

Link felt the warm of affection bloom in his chest. Yes, she had always been silly that way when it came to promises, even back then.

\- "When will she arrive?"

\- "The same day as the ordonian commission, if everything goes as planned."

\- "I see. Thank you for telling me Impa" – Link stood up and made a beeline to the door.

\- "Are you leaving already?"

\- "I can only avoid my duties for so long, High Chancellor."

Impa sighed, but the corners of her mouth lifted up. He was already scheming something.

\- "What are you going to do about Zelda?"

\- "Isn't it obvious?"

He opened the door and looked back at her, a grin lighting up his whole face.

\- "I'm going to give her what I didn't back then."

Link closed the door after him and headed for his own office, ignoring the confused stare Sheik gave him. He felt more excited now than in the past years. He had letters to write and reports to read, but now he also had a plan to make.

This time he was going to give Zelda a good reason to stay.

* * *

 _Great, I never thought I was going to update so fast..._

 _I hope you like this chapter, we are seeing a part of Link's rutine. Next will be Zelda. Please look forward to it._


	3. Days of a Wanderer

Disclaimer: It goes without saying, it's not mine, only the plot comes from my imagination.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Days of a Wanderer.**

The day was colder than she expected it to be.

It made Zelda upset when her predictions end up being wrong no matter how much she calculated the different variables. But, in the end, there was no reliable way to know beforehand how exactly the weather was going to be like. She was no clairvoyant after all, no will she want to. Facts and theories have always been her allies. she was not going to change that for something so far-fetched as future readings.

Magic existed, of course, but it was not omniscient, nor omnipotent, neither omnipresent – the world would be a catastrophe if that were the case –. The goddesses were wise in that aspect, surely it had been Nayru's idea, she could almost see Din going against it and Farore leaving everything in her sister's hands.

But this was not the time to think of such a useless understatement. She had more pressing matters right now.

Food being the main priority.

It was not the first time she had gone without sleep while traveling, so that posed no threat. The lack of illumination was not a problem either, she knew a not so complicated spell which allowed her to see in the dark. But food was necessary, she couldn't go on for the next few hours without eating **something** , anything will do if one could go by the growling coming from her stomach.

The truth was that magic takes a toll on the body, the price is different from person to person; but, in general, the cost is related to energy… any kind of it, actually. Her own mother would get sleepy after a practice session, she paid her magical fee with mental energy, which was often dangerous on the long run. But, in Zelda's case, she compensates it by burning calories.

In other words: she gets hungry.

It had been quite convenient when she was at the – ¡oh so horrible! – stage of the teenage where you get afraid of being fat. But – after getting herself out of it by admitting how much of a nonsense it was for her to think that way, she had been blessed with this kind of metabolism, so complaining was bound to earn her enemies –, after a while of being on the road it became quite inconvenient.

Because:

1.- Rich food was heavy.

2.- She preferred fruits and vegetable.

3.- Hunting was a pain.

How does everything relate to the weather? Easy, the colder you feel, the more calories your body will burn to keep you warm. And, between the cold and the magic fee, she spent her food rations while still six hours away from Ordon.

If it were midday she could ignore the uncomfortable feeling of her stomach trying to eat itself because she wouldn't need to use magic, but her pocket clock signalled two in the morning, still five hours before day break.

And, to make thing worse, she was late on schedule.

If everything had gone her way, she would have been by now in Ordon, enjoying a delicious pumpkin soup. But no, she had to visit Zora's Domain only to get dragged around by the capricious Zora Princess. If she didn't arrive to Ordon today, she was bound lose the commission that is heading to Castel Town in the morning.

That mean no waggon to ride, more rations to buy, more cold lonesome nights sleeping outdoors and getting late to her meeting with Impa. She hated being late.

Impa hates it as well… and people who are late… really, she is too scary for her own good.

 _May Nayru punish you, Ruto_. Zelda thought viciously while a draft sneaked her way into her cloak.

Weather was definitely her least favourite feature of nature, miserable unpredictable thing.

Looking around the bushes of Faron's wood for _**anything**_ to eat, Zelda grumped under her breath how glad she was that Jolene wasn't travelling with her anymore. The girl had been the most reliable companion she had had so far, but no matter how reliable she was, she never seemed to fill her share of humiliating Zelda.

It had been both a shame and – mostly – a relief to go their separate ways in Clock Town. She could almost imagine how Jolene would mock her for her decision of not using a thinker cloak.

And about how weak she was… Jolene didn't need to tell her that for Zelda to know it. That emotional unstable muscle brain, she was glad she went back to Labrynna.

Nope, no she wasn't.

Gritting her teeth against the waves of loneliness that threatened to overcome her. She put more effort into her search while reciting a book she had read on Snow Peak about the lack of sun and its negative consequences on people's psychic. She just needed a little sunbath and everything will be all right.

Nope, no it won't. But she could pretend it will.

After some serious search, Zelda found a bunch of wild berries – ate a fist of them and the rest she stuck into two bottles that were dangling from her hip, no point in eating them all when she still had five hours to go –, got her herself seven pricked fingers and a pair of scratches. But everything was good now that her stomach wasn't trying to auto-destruct itself.

It almost made her feel accomplished.

Which was pathetic… she needed human company, at least a dog. Cats were not a good idea, she had heard bad things about women having cats for companions, something about being crazy or the like. Ever since her decision of going back to Hyrule, she had felt too much at edge to push it. No need for cats to doubt her already precarious mental health.

In her letters, Impa often told her about how dangerous it was to travel alone. Zelda agreed with her. That was the reason she, more often than not, travelled with someone. Her last companion had been Jolene, a labrynnian sailor. She was a woman too rough on the edges, so Zelda had had trouble adapting to her ever-changing moods. Really, it came to no surprise: Zelda put logic before everything, even if she took them into consideration, she tried to not let her feelings reign over. Jolene, on the other hand, was her natural opposite. She was explosive and impulsive. Got in trouble at least five times a day and she gave her the worst headache in her eighteen years.

But at least she had been able to keep her pace while they were together, even if she had complained about it too often.

Her first companion had been a horse, she remembers him more clearly now that she is traversing Faron forest for the second time. He had been a gift from Impa to "keep her safe" – how could a horse keep her safe was beyond her comprehension –, a beautiful specimen completely black.

The colour came in handy as she travelled through both day and night, avoiding goblins or bandits depending on the region. The horse – Hassan, now that she thought of it – had been trained for speed, not for war. Even if he had been braver than many others.

Zelda regretted sending him back to Impa, but it had been unavoidable. Even though Hassan had bravely endured the harsh pace she established. In the end, it was too much for him to endure. She had been death set into going as far as possible from Hyrule as soon as possible. She lost a friend because of her stubbornness, again.

Between him and Jolene, Zelda travelled with many more people, more than she could remember, or bothered to.

Yet, she knew all too well how lonely travelling by oneself could be.

There was still an hour to go before daybreak when her perimeter alarm went off.

She reacted immediately. The signal came from the east side so she put a muffler spell around her and she ran to the nearest tree, positioning herself on the highest branch she could allow herself to reach in the time given, and faced said direction.

At night, her perimeter was set with a radius of 100 meters as sound travels farther at night – by daylight she could narrow it –, it gave her enough time to react in case of an ambush, be it to attack or to escape, in this case she couldn't take the escape route, Ordon was too close by to let such a coincidence go unnoticed.

The alarm informed her of the approaching of a group of goblins, far too large for her to manage alone without probabilities of getting hurt. Still, she had to try. They seemed to be heading west, to Ordon, so it was bound to be a surprise attack, even if it seemed like a far possibility for creatures with the intellect of goblins.

Calculating her possibilities of success according to the number of goblins – around 15 had already entered her perimeter –, Zelda decided that the probability of getting on time to her meeting with Impa reached zero.

And she might need another food source, berries could only do so much.

Seven of them had bows. She was going to take down those first, Zelda decided while taking out her own. Goblins were stupid, so she would be able to exterminate five before they pin pointed her localization… but, as she nocked an arrow, just in case this was not the only group heading to Ordon, she needed to warn them.

\- " _Answer me, messenger of the forest, arise from you slumber and heed my voice."_ – She chanted in old Hylian injecting magic into her words.

Soon after, a small blue light floated out of the branch she was in, a messenger – also called a fairy – slowly came near her face.

\- " _It's been a while since I last woke up,"_ – chimed the fairy's small voice also talking in old Hylian – " _it won't last long my dear, what do you need?"_

\- " _I need you to deliver a message to those who protect Ordon village."_

\- " _Out with it."_

\- ""Ordon could be in danger. Be careful, there are goblins nearby." _That's all."_

\- " _Oh, dear."_ – The fairy looked distressed – " _They don't talk the spirit language anymore? What an obvious way to autodestruct themselves."_ – Zelda agreed with that thought, but it wasn't time to discuss it.

\- " _Can you do it?"_

\- " _Of course, don't worry Nayru's daughter."_

 _Nayru's…_ , but before she could question it about that, the fairy was gone. And Zelda had better things to focus on.

The goblins were already entering her vision field, they were 18 in total: 7 with bows, 6 with swords and 5 with spears. Rapidly thinking on a strategy, she expanded her perimeter 100 meters more in case there were other groups nearby. Those scoundrels had certainly planed a surprise attack, it was their bad luck she was here.

They weren't on a certain formation per se, but at least walked at the same pace. Zelda let them pass under her tree and waited until their backs were at her. She aimed at the goblin archer almost in the middle of the other six.

\- " _Bomb arrow"_ – Murmured in the old language.

The effect was immediate, the arrow was set on fire and started to hiss like a normal bomb, the sudden light blinded Zelda for a moment and called the attention of the goblins.

But it was too late, she had released it and it went straight to its target.

Zelda closed her eyes just in time to avoid hurting her eyes with the explosion and quickly dispelled the night vision spell, the leftover flames had to be enough. She was not sure if she had killed all the archers, but – going by the groans and cries of pain – at least she hurt half of the company.

No time for dilly-dally.

Nocking the next arrow, she repeated the process another three times, ignoring her (suddenly) voracious hunger until she finished her business. The following explosions were as deafening as the first one, there was no way the people of Ordon were unable to hear them.

After that, she looked at the consequence of her actions, and the result was that she was left with 10 death bodies, 6 gravely injured and 2 runaway but hurt goblins. She had just relaxed and was about to reach for one of her bottles when another – not so unexpected – company of goblins entered her perimeter from the northeast.

Groaning internally about lack of manners – even if there was no way goblins could understand such a concept –, she hastily stuffed her mouth with berries and took out her fifth arrow.

The next group took a good ten minutes to cover the distance, they were being more careful than their comrades which unnerved and impressed her at the same time; they were being wiser than the last group, which was understandable as she couldn't detect any weapons on them.

Zelda discovered the reason when they reached her vision field.

Bombs, this group was carrying bombs… those fools, they made her work easier.

Choosing a fire arrow before a bomb arrow – because the explosion was going to be amazing even without the added component –, Zelda released her fifth and contemplated without remorse the fireworks that ensued. Jolene would be so envious if she knew about this.

She was in the process of stuffing herself once again – she was running out of berries! Sometimes she hated her own metabolism –, when a third and fourth party came into the picture. One from the west and the other from the southeast. A human party and a goblin party.

 _Just perfect_ , she thought while wiping clean her second and last bottle.

Zelda was just preparing to put out the fire with ice arrows, in case the human party wasn't friendly – because humans weren't as stupid as goblins and will surely look up for the chaos culprit –, when the fairy she just summoned minutes ago almost gave her a heart attack.

\- " _Hey,"_ – It screamed in her ear, she was starting to think it was female – " _I gave them the message, they are not far behind."_

\- " _The guardians of Ordon? How is that possible? The village is an hour away!"_ – The surprise ebbed her annoyance at the fairy.

\- " _They weren't in the village silly, don't underestimate the men of this forest."_ – She giggled happily – " _If you need anything else, just call."_

\- " _Sure, thank you."_

And with that, she was gone into the tree again. One concern less for her.

Swiftly climbing to the branch above. Zelda steeled herself for the incoming clash.

The goblins reached her hiding place before the ordonians – really, what a scatter-brained creatures –. So Zelda, knowing that she was going to have backup in a few, took her sweet time distracting the 12 creatures mob.

The ordonians made themselves known soon after.

\- "They are really here! Attack! Attack!" – commanded a man's voice.

The following brawl was shorter than she expected, the ordonian warriors knew their stuff away better than what one would assume from a farming village. She had taken out four goblins beforehand so, if seven men couldn't handle the rest, they would have fallen from her graces anyway.

Their leader, the man who had shouted, was very sharp indeed.

\- "Should I thank you for the warning, stranger?" – He addressed her while she was still on the tree, trying to figure out the best way to handle this new outcome.

\- "That's not for me to decide, I'm afraid."

He seemed surprised, was it because she was a girl?

\- "Well, missy. Even if you almost caused a forest fire, you sure saved our village from a serious attack. You have my thanks." – He hesitated a bit – "Still, I will have to ask you to come down, shadows are as trustworthy as goblins."

\- "Sounds fair, give me a second."

Zelda brought time by putting away her bow and pretending to adjust a few things, it gave her enough to assess the mood. After all, only a fool would feel comfortable after seeing the mess she had made.

But these men felt wary, not alarmed. Was there a magic user between them? Maybe that was the reason they didn't feel too preoccupied about dealing with her.

Once she was down, the man presented himself.

\- "I'm Rusl, the village guard. This are my comrades: Abe, Carlov, Garrickson, Anton, Salvatore and Kamo." – Each man acknowledged her as Rusl said their names.

If she hadn't seen them fight she would have never guessed they could do such a thing, all of them looked much too ordinary.

\- "My name is Zelda, Zelda Nohansen."

Rusl looked at her suspiciously, carefully.

\- "Can you prove it? The Nohansen name isn't to take lightly."

Zelda nodded, that was the reason she seldom mentioned it, but Impa had insisted she used it once back in the kingdom. She didn't need to hide her inheritance anymore, she had said. Looking into her backpack, she found the letter Impa had sent her ten days ago, telling her to use it if the men of Ordon gave her problems. Apparently, it was a recommendation letter, but she hadn't been allowed to open it. It was addressed to the Mayor Bo.

\- "I have a letter for Mayor Bo, it has the seal of the Hight Chancelor of Hyrule" – she handed it to him.

Rusl examined the red seal and Impa's elegant handwriting by the fire light, not an easy feat. But after a minute he seemed satisfied, so he gave her the envelope back.

\- "I apologize for all this interrogation, one can never be too much careful while dealing with strangers, more so those who are able to blow up whole hordes of goblins. Will you come with us to the village? I would not mind hearing about your little feat." – Rusl was smiling while he said that, but Zelda could see the reluctance in the body language of his comrades.

\- "I would be grateful, the map says the village is another hour away and traveling alone can be quite boring" – Zelda smiled as well, trying to look harmless.

\- "Very well," – then he called out to the others - "let's clean up real fast so we can go back home!"

\- "Yes, sir!"

Zelda helped them clean up. They put all the goblins in a pile and burned them, and put off the small fires all around. While doing it, she noticed how uncomfortable all the men – except Rusl – seemed when she got close. That could become a serious trouble in the future, so she needed to smooth over that shocking first impression.

Magic users as powerful as her were looked with fear and hatred in other countries. It wasn't that magic users were powerful demoniac forces, but when someone could bend the laws of the universe to create… let's say: a bomb in the form of an arrow. No matter how small the thing was, it could be very dangerous indeed. And people feared what they couldn't understand, more so dangerous things they couldn't understand.

History wasn't in their favour, many users were put to death for misusing their powers, be it to conquer the land or to simply damage its population.

Not all of them were like that, of course. There was proof of many others who have used their powers in benefit of others. But for non-users they still couldn't be trusted, because bad actions more often than not outweighe good actions. And the bomb arrow that defeated a bunch of goblins now, could destroy their homes tomorrow.

So, she avoided using magic as much as possible in front of others. And as hyrulians were not an exception to this rule, her mother had spent most of their practice sessions teaching her how to make use of the circumstances around her to conceal her gift. "Don't lie about what happens," was the first rule she taught her, "but don't correct them when they underestimate you. People like to feel secure, Zellie, it will be easier for you to be underestimate since you're a woman."

And so, that's exactly what she did. She didn't deny being a magic user, she just didn't correct them when they assumed all the goblins carried gunpowder.

By the time they arrived to Ordon it was already daybreak, and all the other six felt more relaxed around her. They called her little miss or little lady and even joked around about how much they needed archery classes from her. The only one who didn't seem to think little of her actions was Rusl, but apparently, he didn't think of her as a threat either, as he never made a move to correct the misconceptions of his crew.

\- "Ok, guys. Go home and find some rest, I will inform you later about the changes for our travel to Castle Town." – Rusl quickly dismissed his men.

\- "Aye, aye Captain!" – some of them responded saluting in a mocking way.

Zelda was glad they felt relaxed enough to do it around her.

\- "Captain," – one of them got closer while the others dispersed, if Zelda remembered correctly his name was Kamo – "do you need any help escorting little miss to the Mayor's?"

\- "No need Kamo, go and get some sleep" – Rusl smiled, gesturing him to hurry up and go.

\- "Ok, good luck little miss" – he smiled shyly at her.

\- "Thank you Kamo" – Zelda smiled back, pretending not to notice how red he turned in response.

Once the poor guy was out of hearing reach, Rusl started chuckling.

\- "It seems we found not only a powerful user in the forest, but also a charmer."

Zelda tensed at the comment, but his smile and eyes held no aggression, so she relaxed a little.

\- "That was not my intention, I do apologize."

\- "Don't sweat it little miss, as long as you don't give him anymore hopes, he will forget about it eventually."

They headed to the biggest house, right in the centre of the village, there was already movement inside. It came to no surprise, as farmers were early birds, but it was the small candle light by the window which let her to believe one of its occupants hadn't sleep that much tonight.

And the fact that, no sooner than Rusl had knocked the door, a huge man in his forties was already opening it.

\- "Rusl! Thank the goddesses! Were you able to find the group of goblins?" – Zelda could easily see the relief and the uneasiness in his face, what an honest man.

\- "We did Bo, don't worry about it. We exterminated them all, so I don't think they pose a threat anymore. Still, it will be good to leave some of the men back. Let's talk inside, is no good to talk about delicate matter by the doorstep."

\- "Of course, of course, do come in." – He noticed her at last – "And this young lady would be?"

\- "This is Zelda Nohansen, she helped us with the goblins." – The Mayor looked shocked and ready to start an interrogation, but Rusl got the upper hand – "Let's go inside, we will tell you everything then. Little miss here has a letter from the High Chancellor of Hyrule for you as well."

Mayor Bo looked hesitant for a moment, but agreed in the end.

\- "Very well, come in. Let me invite you some breakfast."

They came in, leaving their coats at the entrance and their weapons at one of the kitchen's walls. There was a young beautiful woman cooking some pumpkin soup at that moment. She looked curious – of Zelda – and pleased of having guests.

\- "This is my daughter, Ilia." – The Mayor made the presentations, looking a little wary – "Ilia, sweetie, you know Rusl but this little lady here is Zelda Nohasen, I have some issues to talk with them privately why don't you…"

\- "Go and help Uli with breakfast," – Rusl ended the sentence for him, as the Mayor didn't seem to have any ideas – "I'm sure she will appreciate the company, since I will be a little late."

The young woman, Ilia, didn't look pleased of been told she couldn't participate in the discussion, but cheered a little about the prospect of spending time with this woman, Uli.

\- "Very well, do feel at home and feel free to eat as much as you want." – She said this, smiling warmly at Zelda.

\- "Thank you so much." – She smiled back, feeling a little touched by her hospitality.

Once they heard the door closing, Mayor Bo invited them to sit down and started serving the hot soup. Zelda couldn't believe her luck, even if she was sleep-deprived and maybe about to have an uncomfortable conversation, at least she would be able to eat the soup she had been daydreaming about her whole journey through the forest.

While Zelda busied herself with inhaling as much soup as she could, Rusl told Bo about their whole enterprise. About how they spent the whole night tracking down the goblin scouts that had been bothering the village for the last couple of weeks, how they had been warned by the fairy she had sent (but he didn't mention who had sent it) and how they had met her.

Zelda noticed, and felt a little guilty about it, how Rusl stuck to the misinterpreted version of their encounter. She got the unusual sensation that he understood her situation all too well.

\- "You have my thanks young lady, things could have been catastrophic for us if those goblins were able to get close to our village. How can I show you our gratitude?" - Mayor Bo finally addressed her.

\- "I did what I should, I believe this delicious soup is reward enough" – Zelda smiled while showing him the empty bowl after her second helping.

It made the Mayor laugh, a deep, cheerful sound that Zelda decided immediately that she liked.

\- "My Ilia is an excellent cook, I can concede you that. I can give you more for later if you love it so much."

\- "I will take you for your word then." – It made him laugh even more.

\- "Very well, but Rusl told me you have a letter addressed for me from the High Chancellor..." – Zelda nodded and went to take out the letter Impa had sent her – "Did she send you?"

\- "I'm afraid that's not the case Mayor," - she apologised, handing him the envelop – "but I expect the High Chancellor explains the whole situation to you in this letter."

\- "Let's see…"

He examined the seal for a moment before carefully open it. While reading the letter, he started frowning in confusion, then raised his eyebrows in surprise and finally he stopped reading and looked at her in amazement.

\- "Well, I must admit I expected something unusual coming from someone who hold the surname Nohansen, but to be a friend of the Crown Prince Link IV himself. That was not exactly what I had in mind."

Come again?

\- "Can- can I see it?" – Zelda extended her hand feeling a little bit lost.

It started just how she had expected from Impa. Formality, formality, something about the treaty they were about to sign, formality, and the requested for them to allow her – Zelda Nohansen – to joint their commission to Castel Town.

Everything she had imagined, excepted for the signing name:

 _Best regards,_

 _Link IV Valiant_

 _Crown Prince of Hyrule._

It even had the Royal Seal, cleverly hidden behind the first one. It made Zelda's head spin a bit.

What does that mean? Did he forgive her? Was it an open invitation to visit him? Or an open challenge? He had been as formal as Impa while writing the letter to the point she thought at the beginning it was her who had written it. Furthermore, there was no signs of hesitation in it… Was this an act of quiet resignation or of a welcome reconciliation? Could she really hope for such a thing after all these years?

\- "Are you fine, dear?" – Asked her Rusl from her right.

That put a halt to her increasingly panicked thoughts.

\- "Yes, yes, I just. It's been so long since the last time we saw each other, I thought he had forgotten about me." – She could feel a headache coming.

\- "Well, obviously he hasn't. Goddesses! I hope Ilia doesn't see it, you should hide it little lady, she has had a crush on that boy since she first met him four years ago." – Mayor Bo, was laughing, and Zelda smiled weakly, feeling a little dizzy.

Dizzy with relief? Or with panic? She wasn't sure anymore.

\- "Bo, I think the little miss is starting to feel the strain. We should accommodate her."

\- "Exactly my thoughts, old friend. We have some guestrooms so we could…"

\- "I know what you are thinking, but I believe Uli will be pleased to meet her, there might not be time for it tomorrow I'm afraid."

\- "Oh, yes. It's a shame Uli can't go this year, she's our best seller. Will you come by midday then? There are still some details to see about tomorrow."

\- "Of course, in the meantime, we all need a good sleep. Am I right to believe you slept as much as us?"

\- "You know me all too well, bring little lady for dinner as well. Ilia would love to meet her."

\- "Sure. See you later then."

Zelda got out of her stupor long enough to thank the Mayor for his hospitality, and to wonder why this Uli woman will be pleased to meet her. It was certainly curious how these people have reacted to her name, or how easily they seemed to accept her. It was confusing, to say the least.

But, Zelda thought as Rusl presented her to Uli, his wife, at least her instincts told her she was not in danger here. She will be able to sleep soundly for the first time in a long, long time.

If she will be safe once she was back to Castle Town... well, that was about to be seen.

* * *

 _Second chapter already, I struggled more than I thought with Zelda than with Link, I was sure it was going to be the other way around... how interesting._

 _I hope you enjoy it. I already have some ideas for the next chapters, but I cannot decide if I should follow this patter (Link, Zelda, Link, Zelda) or if it doesn't matter at all... I think I will keep going with Zelda, Link can have his protagonism after I web some loose threads._

 _Until next chapter, then._


	4. Past, Present, Future

**Chapter 3:** Past, Present, Future.

"– " _Why did you do that!? You had to stick to the plan!" – she was screaming, she barely raised her voice, but now she was screaming._

 _\- "We won, didn't we? Why does it matter if I stuck to the plan or not?" – he didn't even look at her, too busy with his sword to care about how upset she was at him._

 _\- "That's not important! Stop doing that and look at me, Link!"_

 _He did, and she wished he hadn't._

 _\- "It's you who should stop, Nohansen! Don't you dare to order me, I am your superior! Someone like you who can't even wield a sword properly doesn't have any say in what I do or don't do. Get out of my sight!"_

 _His words opened old wounds, his eyes – hard sapphire stones – said he wasn't going to give her the chance to defend her case. She wasn't needed anymore…_

 _\- "As you wish, your Majesty."_

 _She was not going to cry, not in front of him. And if he wanted space, she will give him plenty._

 _So, she left. With no intentions of coming back."_

* * *

Her head throbbed at the same pace as her heart. It certainly wasn't the best awaken Zelda had had, but it was better than she had expected it to be, given the circumstances. More so after having such a crude flashback, it wasn't good to remember those things when she was about to go back to Castel Town, but – Zelda admitted ruefully – it may be unavoidable.

Little by little, she relaxed her tense muscles, bit by bit uncurling from her foetal position. It was only when she was completely stretched that she noticed a pair of unusual things: First, she was sleeping on a bed, something she hadn't done since she crossed the boundary to Hyrule; and second, the bed was a bit too small for her.

Then it dawned on her: this was Rusl's home. He had let her sleep on his son's bed because, by the time they arrived, she was more asleep than awake.

Now she felt awful, she hadn't even greeted his wife properly.

And she was still on her traveling clothes to make things worse, she hoped they didn't mind her lack of courtesy. It had been a tiresome night after all.

Before getting out of the small room, Zelda noticed a small cradle near the door. Did they have a baby? She must have been exhausted, she usually was more observant than that. She had to be careful, overviewing details could be fatal in her situation.

Interesting enough, that was not the case. She realized once she opened the door and entered the small living room-dining room.

Sitting by the wooden table was a blonde and heavily pregnant woman. She was looking at a thick book while explaining something in a soft and barely audible voice to her equally blonde son. Or at least she thought so, because they looked too much alike to be strangers.

The boy was the first one to notice her, whatever they were studying seemed to be a little bit boring to his young mind.

\- "You're awake! That's great!" – he made as if he was going to run to greet her, but changed his mind at the last moment and looked at his mother nervously.

The woman smiled softly at her and Zelda felt a knot in her chest loose. She hadn't even noticed how tense she was before.

\- "You look better now; did you sleep well?" – She got up and slowly walked to where Zelda was.

\- "Yes, thank you so much, Mrs…"

\- "Uli, just Uli. Don't worry about formalities little Zelda." – That stunned her, Uli noticed and quickly said – "Rusl told us a little about you, as you seemed too tired to make conversation."

\- "I apologize."

\- "Don't, you helped us a lot."

She took her hand in her own and squeezed. The warm feeling that spread inside of Zelda felt familiar in a strange way. Like something from another life, when things were simple and her mother…

\- "Mrs… I mean, Uli. Have I met you before?"

The question sounded silly to her, but it made the woman smile.

\- "Yes, we have met before. It was before I married my Rusl, back when I still lived in Kakariko."

Oh! That explained a lot. It was at that moment that Zelda realized, at last, why the warm Uli exhibit felt so solid: She was transferring a little bit of mana to Zelda through her hands, it was an old Healer art, magic users used this technic to help others to recover their energy. Now everything Rusl had done for her made sense. His wife was a magic user, just like her. No wonder he understood how dangerous it was for her to be suspected.

But, if she had met her when she lived in Kakariko… why couldn't she remember?

Looking how confused she was, Uli answered her unspoken question.

\- "It's all right if you don't remember, you were barely three at that time. After I came to Ordon, your mother and I keep contact through correspondence. And after what happened to her, Impa warned us about seeking you. It was better for you to remain anonymous and under her care. She is the High Chancellor of Hyrule after all."

Zelda's head spun a little, now Rusl attitude to her made even more sense. Uli must have sensed her bewildered, because she let go of her hands and headed to the kitchen.

\- "You must be hungry. Sit down, I will prepare something for you. Rusl is still asleep, but he will wake up soon, we can eat lunch together then."

Zelda did as she was asked and sat down opposite to the blonde boy, he had been quiet during their – shocking – exchange. But Zelda could see how curious he felt about her.

\- "I'm sorry, what time is it?" – She asked to no one in particular.

\- "It's half past one" – answered her the young boy. He looked eager to talk to her, Zelda decide to humour him.

\- "Thank you, and you are…"

\- "Colin, my name is Colin" – he flushed a little when he noticed how rushed he sounded.

\- "Colin," – Zelda repeated – "nice to meet you, my name is Zelda."

\- "Miss Zelda…"

\- "Zelda is fine Colin, don't worry." – She said, smiling.

Colin's face went from pink to red in a second and Zelda had to suppress the impulse to giggle, it wasn't polite to do it, no matter how cute the boy looked.

It was then when she got the opportunity to appreciate the book on the table. It was an old one, written in old hylian, apparently about healing arts. It immediately called her attention.

\- "Are you studying old hylian, Colin?" – she decided that if Rusl had told his wife about her, then he must have told her about her being a magic user. She wouldn't have made such an obvious display of magic if he hadn't.

She was right in her assumption as Colin didn't even flinch at her question, he looked even more eager now to talk to her than before. Uli, who was surely listening everything from the kitchen, didn't even bothered to check on them. They trusted her with their secret as she shared the same.

\- "My mother is teaching me. She is a healer, you know? She says I have the same potential but I need to learn the language to use it correctly. So far I can read it, but my pronunciation is awful." – He smiled at her, a little sheepish – "Mother said you could already talk in the old tongue when you had my age, so I tried to study a bit before you woke up."

It was true, but Zelda have always been a fast learner. She understood how much others struggled to learn when she started to hang out with Link and the other children in the castle.

She was just about to tell Colin about it when Uli returned, bringing with her a bowl of freshly cut apples.

\- "He was trying to impress you. This is the first time we have a user as our guest, so he was very eager to meet you." – She left the bowl between Colin and her, ignoring the pout her son was directing to her.

\- "Mom!" – complained Colin.

\- "It's the truth, dear."

Zelda couldn't help but chuckle, it felt so natural to see them like this.

\- "Thank you for the food" – she said while taking a piece of apple.

Uli smiled at her and took a seat beside her son.

\- " _I'm sorry for acting this way, but Tetra and Impa told me so much about you in their letters. I hope we're not making you uncomfortable by being over familiar."_ – She apologized in old hylian, her son looked at her in admiration and Zelda felt a little startled, but she got over it soon.

\- " _Don't apologize, Uli. It is indeed strange for me, but it isn't unwelcome_." – Zelda admitted, using the same language, and feeling endearment for this woman who identified herself as acquaintance of her mother, maybe even a friend – " _Impa once told me about a friend of my mother who lived in Ordon, but she never told me her name or if she was a user as well. Was it you, I assume?"_

\- " _Yes, it is so_." – Uli nodded, smiling softly, everything about her seemed soft – " _I'm not sure why Impa didn't tell you about me, but I'm sure she had her reasons."_

Zelda nodded as well, she was about to agree verbally when Colin complained.

\- "Mom, I don't understand that well what you're saying!"

\- "Well, dear," – answered Uli, mischief shinning a little in her eyes – "that's the reason why you must keep studying."

Zelda chuckle while seeing mother and son playfully argue. It was then when Rusl finally showed up.

\- "I see you are getting along, that's good, that's good."

Zelda was relieved to see she hadn't been the only one to fell asleep in her traveling clothes, apparently Rusl had been too tired to change as well. If his dishevelled appearance was anything to go by.

Uli didn't even blink at her husband's lack of propriety.

\- "I'll prepare the food" – she announced, getting up from the table.

It made Zelda worry how much she moved around when she looked to be in her seventh moth at least.

\- "I will help" – she offered.

\- "No, no. You're our guest, don't worry about it" – Uli refused her, softly but without leaving room for arguments.

\- "But…" - she tried anyway, but Rusl interrupted her.

\- "Don't even try, little lady. Despise her appearance, my wife is a very prideful woman. The only time you can enter her kitchen is when she is too sick to cook herself." – He joked naturedly, sitting at the head of the table.

\- "The last time I let you into my kitchen you burned water, dear." – Called Uli from the kitchen.

\- "That was a long time ago."

\- "I don't repeat the same mistakes, I'm afraid."

Colin snickered and Zelda hid her smile by munching another piece of apple.

It was an enjoyable lunch, Colin was curious and timid at the same time, Zelda liked him immediately, Rusl was the perfect fatherly figure and Uli was a loving mother and wife. It was impossible not to feel comfortable around them. It was also the first time Zelda felt glad of her decision to come back to Hyrule.

After they had lunch, – a rabbit stew so delicious Zelda was unable to refuse seconds – she was having a simple conversation with Colin in the old tongue when Rusl suddenly told her.

\- "By the way, Zelda, I mean to ask before but we had more pressing matters." – He cleared his throat – "Could you tell me why did you come here, to Ordon? If there is anything we can help you with, we will gladly do it."

Uli nodded beside him, smiling at her. The gesture warmed her heart.

\- "Is nothing big, actually. I'm sure Mayor Bo read it in the letter, but I think the surprise of seeing Link's signature was bigger than my request."

\- "Link? You mean the Prince, right?" – intervened Colin – "Are you friends with our Prince, Zelda?"

She hesitated a bit, not sure how to approach the subject, and realising her mistake of calling him by given name.

\- "I was, more or less, his assistant for a while." – She answered after moment – "Impa presented us."

Colin looked awestruck and Uli a little impressed, but Rusl stared at her suspiciously, as if he knew something about their situation. But Zelda didn't dare to elaborate, the fact that she has or has had a relation with a member of the royal family was a delicate matter for a pair of reasons, she needed to ask Impa with how much she could trust them about.

But, all too soon, Rusl moved on.

\- "So, what was this request about?"

\- "About the commission that was supposed to head to Castel Town yesterday." – She continued, feeling relieved. – "I was just hopping I could join you."

Rusl nodded, a little pensive.

\- "I don't think there will be any problem with your request. The only problem Bo could had had, would have been to confirm your identity; but I'm sure the letter was more than enough."

Zelda sighed in relief. She hadn't thought they would refuse her request, but it was good to hear it anyway.

\- "Any business in Castel Town?" – asked Uli.

\- "Yes, I have a promise to fulfil."

She didn't elaborate, and they didn't insist. They seemed to understand that it was a private matter. And for that reason, Zelda silently thanked them both.

Some hours later, Zelda found herself in an unexpected situation.

After that small chat with Rusl, she helped Uli with some chores and Colin with his language pronunciation while Rusl was out, checking on the guards on duty. He said something about passing by the Mayor's home in case he needed something. Zelda never thought the Mayor could cause her problems, at least not intentionally.

Uli was showing her some of her mother's letters as Colin talked her ear off about all the things his mother has told him about her, when suddenly the door opened.

\- "Sorry for the intrusion, Uli!" – called the Mayor's daughter from the doorway.

It almost gave Zelda a heart attack, but Uli remined impassive.

\- "Good afternoon, Ilia. Would you like some tea?" – she asked as the girl entered the house.

\- "No, thanks. Dad sent me here, he said it would be a good idea to give a tour around to the newcomer." – She answered, all smiles, and finally looked at Zelda, who by then had recover her composure – "You're Zelda, right?"

\- "I am."

\- "I'm Ilia, we saw each other yesterday." – She took seat by her side, it made Zelda nervous – "Would you like to see the village? Dad said you're going with them to Castel Town tomorrow, so I think it'll be a shame if you lose the chance to enjoy the fresh air of the forest."

Zelda was about to tell her that she had plenty of that air since she had travelled through them for 10 days straight, thank you very much. She wanted to see more of the letters her mother had written to Uli and, for some reason she already suspected, Ilia seemed eager to be alone with her which made her wary. But Colin interrupted her refusal.

\- "I want to go too!" – he exclaimed, enthusiastic – "I will show you the goats, Zelda! They are pretty cute when they aren't causing problems."

\- "Nobody wants to see the goats, don't be silly Colin" – Said Ilia in distaste.

\- "You don't know that, Ilia. Ours are bigger than the other villages."

\- "Girls like flowers, not goats."

\- "You can see flowers everywhere."

\- "Colin…"

\- "Actually," - Zelda interrupted, taking her chance before they started arguing – "I'd love to see the goats. Will you show them to me, Colin?"

Colin cheered, immediately agreeing, Ilia pouted her defeat and Uli smiled. Zelda could see she was amused by the whole thing, that nearly confirmed her suspicions about Ilia's real intentions.

\- "Fine! – Ilia agreed – "But let's go now! We must be back before dinner. You're all invited to my house today, anyway."

Colin cheered again, hurrying to put his boots. Zelda excused herself, asking for a moment to wash herself and change clothes. Uli offered herself to help her with the water for the first.

Around twenty minutes later, Zelda joined Colin and Ilia. Her Hair humid and clad in a simple spring blue dress. Colin timidly took her hand to guide her to the goats, face flushed. Ilia's eyes darkened a little when she saw her, but she soon smiled and went along with them.

Zelda knew the young woman felt uncomfortable around her, and thought she knew the reason for it as well. Mayor Bo seemed like an honest man, he might be unable to hide information from his daughter.

This was new to her, because of her unique circumstances, she hadn't been in position to elicit feelings like this in the women population before. Even when she used to be Link's best friend, and they were almost always together at the beginning of their teenage. Nor when she was the only one who could make him see reason, before their relation deteriorated of course.

She had seen this before, but never experienced herself. what was it called again? Jealousy?

Zelda saw the interrogation coming from a mile away, but it wasn't until Colin went to talk to a the goatherder Fado that it started.

\- "So, Zelda." – Ilia fidget a little – "Dad told me that you're friends with Prince Link."

\- "I was more like his assistant" – At least officially, so it wasn't a lie.

\- "Really?" – Zelda felt bad at her hopeful gaze – "How old were you? You look very young to have been the assistant of the Prince."

\- "I'm 18, I'll be 19 in autumn." – That made Ilia's eyes widen.

\- "The same age as the Prince."

\- "Yeah, more or less."

The two of them observed Colin, who was trying to help with the goats. Both occupied by their own thoughts. Ilia was the first to talk, again.

\- "Are you going to Castel Town to see him?"

\- "I might have to see him, yes."

\- "I see. Don't you want to see the Prince?" – she looked sincerely curious about that question.

\- "I… it's a little complicated"

It made Zelda ill at ease, how discourage Ilia appeared. She cursed not being able to explain everything clearly to the girl. She was sure that an enamoured mind as hers will make the wrong assumptions, like thinking of her and Link in a romantic setting – nothing more far from the true –. But, to explain the situation to her will reveal secrets that she couldn't burden others with. It served to their advantage that she believed such a story, no matter how annoying Zelda could find it.

It was a shame, she could have been a good friend. But as long as she considered Zelda a love rival, that possibility would be closed. At least they might be able to be allies in the future.

To escape from the awkward silence, Zelda offered to help Colin and Fado with the goats. It didn't end well, but at least it took their minds off the topic.

They went back to Ilia's house a little before dinner's time, his father didn't know how to cook after all. And while Colin and Ilia – as the kitchen and the dinning-room were in the same room – explained and corrected her about some ordonian customs, the adults joined them.

\- "What are you so passionately discussing about?" – Rusl questioned them, pulling a chair for Uli and taking a seat as well.

\- "We were telling Zelda about the slingshot competition. She said that, beside the pumpkin week, she doesn't know of any major events." – Colin responded.

\- "I see. Have you ever use a slingshot, little miss?"

\- "Not really, just bows and arrows, but a friend of mine used to carry one all the time."

Rusl looked at her with a sly gleam in his eyes, as if he knew she was referring to Link.

\- "I see, we should invite that friend of yours to the next competition."

For some reason that made her laugh.

\- "I'm sure he will be pleased."

They keep telling her about some other competitions and festivals in Ordon, Ilia cooked a vegetable soup that made Zelda understand why the Mayor stomach was so prominent, and Uli brought a sweet apple juice. All in all, it was a memorable diner.

They got down to business once the dishes were clean.

\- "Zelda, Rusl and I talked about it and we will depart tomorrow at dawn, I hope that's not an inconvenience for you…" - informed the Mayor.

\- "No, it isn't. It's better this way, I'm already in retard."

\- "Don't worry about it. We send a message to the palace recently and three nights ago, they should be already informed about our goblin problem and the delay of our commission." – Zelda nodded, feeling better about meeting Impa, the woman was obsessed with punctuality.

\- "We also think it will be better for you to stay here tonight." – Uli added – "We'd love to keep you with us, but I'm afraid our house isn't that big. Bo has a guest room where you can sleep and don't worry about your things, I can prepare them for tomorrow and Rusl will bring them to you."

\- "No, Uli, it's fine. I will prepare them myself and bring them here. You've already done so much."

Uli was about to protest but Rusl intervened.

\- "That will be appreciated Zelda, thank you."

Uli wasn't happy with it but didn't protest any further, Zelda supposed Rusl only intervened when he thought that so much activity could be bad for the baby, so she respected his decisions.

\- "We have a request for you as well Zelda, if it's too much trouble for you." – Rusl continued with the conversation.

\- "If it in my capabilities…"

\- "I'm sure it won't be difficult for you. We just need some expert who can ready use the bow in case we get another surprise attack from the goblins" – he requested, a smile on his face but a serious look in his eyes.

Zelda understood immediately what he was really asking, he wanted her to be their lookout and use her magic to watch the perimeter.

\- "That's not a problem, I'd do it even if you don't ask me to" – she smiled, nodding emphatically.

Rusl smiled gratefully and Bo outright laughed.

\- "I'm still surprised that you could traverse the forest on your own, and at night!" – the Mayor said, smiling broadly at her - Not many people are brave enough to do so.

\- Thank you? – She wasn't sure how to take the comment.

The three adults laughed merrily at her reaction, Colin joined them because their laughter was contagious; but Ilia reminded quiet, looking at her as if she was still evaluating her.

Later, when the family retired for the night, Zelda went with them to retrieve her luggage and equipment. She travelled light, so by the time she came back to the Mayor's Ilia was still preparing her room.

How did she get herself in such an awkward situation, again?

\- "I apologize for the trouble." – Zelda said to dissipate the heavy silence around the girl.

\- "It's no trouble at all, don't worry." – A pause, a bit hesitation – "Could… could you do me a favour once you're in Castel Town?"

\- "Aren't you going too?"

\- "No," - she shook her head in disappointment – "father asked me to stay and help Uli in everything I can, she is in the last stage of her pregnancy so she needs to take care of herself, but as you can see she is also quite stubborn. Colin can do only so much for her since he is still small, so I need to stay to make sure she doesn't overwork herself."

Zelda nodded, it made sense that Ilia stayed if it was that way. Rusl and Mayor Bo seemed like old friends, so it was normal that they worried about each other's family. But Zelda wondered, as Rusl avoided the mention of magic around Ilia and his father, why didn't they knew about Uli's gift?

Whatever it was, she hoped it didn't cause them problems in the future.

\- "And what is this favour about?" – she asked returning to the topic.

\- "I just… could you send my regards to the Prince?" – She fidgeted a little but took out a letter from a punch she carry on her leg – "I was planning to give it to my father, but he'll surely to read it even if I tell him not to. And you seem trustworthy enough so I… well…"

Zelda smiled, not sure if the girl was testing her real feelings for the boy she had a crush on, and not caring either way. Even if she felt that way for Link – and she didn't anyway – she wouldn't be as petty as to reject such an honest wish. This was Link's problem not hers.

\- "If I see him, I will" – She assured her, walking forward, and taking the letter – "If not I will give it to someone who can."

Ilia looked at her hopefully.

\- "Will you?"

\- "I promise."

The girl smiled broadly and, to Zelda's surprise, even hugged her.

\- "Thank you so much! I- well, I will leave you so you can rest. If… if you need something my room is at the end of the corridor."

Zelda thanked her, but she wasn't sure if Ilia heard her or not, the girl seemed too excited to process anything at the moment. So, Zelda closed the door after she was gone, feeling slightly amused at her state.

Just before falling asleep, she wondered about infatuations. Only once Zelda had felt that way about someone, it was when she was still in Labrynna. She, in resume, felt attracted to a man called Raven, he helped her a lot in different circumstances. She had liked him a lot back then.

But she wasn't like Ilia, she had never acted upon her feelings for him. What was the point? She wasn't going to stay in Labrynna, furthermore he appeared to be in love with a woman whose name – if Zelda remembered correctly – was Farore. Things weren't bound to work, trying would have been more painful for her; which brought her back to Ilia's situation. Maybe the girl had a chance to become Link's fiancée, she was the daughter of the Mayor, the title could be important enough for the council to accept her. And that without counting Link's feelings. Before she walked away from Hyrule he had had a crush on the Lon Lon's owner second daughter, Malon. She wasn't sure if he still has it.

She sighed, looking at the blankets under the dim light of the stars. Malon was only one of the factors that contributed to the deterioration of their friendship. Impa told her in her letters that Link had matured and wasn't as reckless now, and Zelda hoped she was right. It was unbecoming of a Prince to go around trying to impress a girl.

Zelda shook her head, squashing the worry she felt resurfacing. They weren't kids anymore, Link wasn't her responsibility either. She didn't need to worry about those things now.

So, Zelda thought while letting the sleep pull her in, let's deal with whatever problems may come one at time.

* * *

 _Third chapter! That's all I have to say. ;)_

 _See you next time!_


	5. The Time in Between

**Chapter 4: The Time in Between**

Aryll was being Aryll… again.

Link admitted that, to certain degree, it was his fault he was now facing this mess, but still, there was a tiny part of himself that wanted to commit sororicide.

And Impa was laughing… or something as close as that…

\- "Could you repeat the last part? Please, Lord Dulls." – Link requested, trying his best to ignore how the corners of Impa's mouth were lifted higher than usual.

\- "Yes, your Majesty. Chief Darunia at last sent us a report about your sister's progress in her studies on Goron's Culture, he praises her learning capacity and assures that she will have everything mastered before this autumn, if she keeps assimilating everything as she has until now, of course." – the assistant of the Minister of Education, Lord Dulls, reported faithfully.

\- "I see… could you refresh my memory, Lord Dulls? When did my sister start her studies with the gorons?"

\- "Before winter, your Majesty."

At the same time when she sent him a letter telling him she was going to remain in Kakariko's Educational Centre for the winter, that sneaky minx. She wasn't alone in her plot, if Impa's smile meant what he thought.

\- "Thank you, Lord Dulls. If you will be so kind as to leave the written reports with Lord Kafei, I will review them later."

\- "As you wish, your Majesty."

He waited until the Lord has closed the door to go for the kill.

\- "Is this the reason you came today to my office, Lady High Chancellor?" – He felt his temper simmer, but kept his voice cold and detached.

\- "Yes, and no." – The Sheikah answered, corners still lifted.

\- "Impa, should I remind you that even if I am still not the King…"

\- "And you won't be until you marry."

\- "No matter," – Link took a long breath, losing control would take him nowhere – "you still have to respect my authority?"

Impa intertwined her fingers, smiling at him from the comfortable armchair Link used to relax, it seemed to Link that all the women in his life were death set to make his life a nightmare. For the love of the goddesses! Aryll is still 11 years old! What is a 11 years old girl doing surrounded by huge stone-people!? What was the council going to say when they find out their future Monarch it's easily deceived by his own sister!?... where was his sword again?

\- "Link, stop. Aryll's transfer documents are really signed by you." – Impa must have seen the murderous glimmer in his eyes, because she immediately went to his side and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

\- "Are you trying to comfort me? Because is not working."

\- "The council won't find out that you were in disagreement."

He pierced her with his eyes.

\- "But I said no, Impa. Is what I say so inconsequential to both of you?"

Impa sighed, returning to her previous post, and gesturing at the sofa. A clear invitation to calmly discuss the situation.

\- "We should ask for tea, it will help you relax." – She suggested when he didn't accept immediately.

Link sighed as well, torn between his wounded pride and his rational side. He was sure that Aryll and Impa would have never tried something as treacherous as this without a good reason, but he was so tired of being doubted by everyone. This winter had been harsh and it wasn't until the consequences started to show their ugly face that the council finally took his suggestions regarding the tax system seriously.

Those old geezers and their greed issues.

He needed vacations.

Feeling too tired for his age, Link touched the communicator stone connected to the kitchens.

\- "Monsieur Octo, could you prepare a tea tray for the High Chancellor and I?" – He asked once it started glowing.

\- " _Bien_ _sûr_ , your Highness. Jasmine tea, I presume?" – answered at once the kitchen manager.

\- "No, mint tea will be enough."

\- "Understood."

Impa frowned at him as he went to sit down on the sofa, but Link didn't care. She should be satisfied with the fact he was actually going to listen.

And mint tea was the only thing that could calm his nerves in this situation, of course he wasn't being _completely_ petty.

They waited patiently for the kitchen staff to bring the tea. As they waited, Link used the time to put his temper under control and seriously think about his sister's actions; Aryl was a little roguish, which was understandable as he was the same at her age, but she was also more mature than he had been. She was, in fact, the only one who really listened to what he had to say. She had never disobeyed him before, that was the reason it hurt so much to hear about what she had done through a report.

They had discussed the possibility of her going to Death Mountain and Zora's Domain to help her first-hand experience their culture before, but Link had told her that she was still too young to go alone – if by alone we don't count her escorts – to those places, and that it was better for her to wait until her thirteen birthday. She had been disappointed and they had, as a matter of fact, argued about it. But she relented at the end and he thought they were over it.

He was sure this mess was Impa's fault.

The tea arrived in twenty minutes – Link mentally praised the kitchen staff for his efficiency, as his office wasn't near the kitchens –, the poor girl who had the misfortune of serving them in this tense situation almost spilled Impa's tea as she gave it to her. Neither of them commented about her mistake and both thanked her before excusing her.

Link sipped his tea deliberately slow without saying anything, he was trying to make snap first.

\- "Can we talk about Aryll now?" – Bingo.

\- "Talk then."

\- "Link, stop acting like that" – Impa looked at him in disapproval.

\- "No, I won't. Don't think for a moment you can fool me, High Chancellor. This was your idea, wasn't it?"

Impa sighed, impatient, she was a proud woman after all, it was difficult for her to admit she had done something wrong. But she knew when she needed to leave her pride aside, as Link only called her by her title when they were in public or when he was mad at her. She needed to reach a compromise between them.

\- "Yes, it was." – Link grumped – "Listen, I know what you are going to say, but you need to understand that, even though Aryll is still young, she has a lot of potential that needs to be developed before is too late."

That called his attention.

\- "What do you mean?"

\- "You must have notice how good she is at keeping good relations with the court, despite her age." – He nodded, of course he has noticed, it was one of the reasons he was so proud of her – "Furthermore, she is at present showing how much of a good dignitary she could be in the future. She might as well be able to replace Lord Julus as Minister of Foreign Affairs when the time comes."

\- "I know all that Impa. We discussed this before, when Aryll was able to convince Prince Komali to become her friend." – The Rito Prince was well now for being an antisocial, that he considered his sister a fried was a huge step in Hyrule's relationship with the Dragon Roost Islands. – "But I still don't understand why you sent my sister to an active volcano."

\- "Think Link," – said Impa exasperatedly – "Aryll is likable, too likable for her own good. Once she becomes fifteen she will have hordes of suitors. And, if you sent her to prepare at thirteen, when the hormones are stronger than reason for those unprepared, do you think she will be really prepared to avoid the temptation of the infatuations in favour of her duties?"

No, he didn't think so. He had first-hand experiences to validate that point.

Impa continued, more tranquil now that he seemed to understand where she was going.

\- "Right now, Aryll is eager to do everything she can to help you, if she starts learning right now. Later, when all the suitors present themselves, she will be able to choose properly, without neglecting her duties. She has always been smarter than you in that aspect after all."

She said that last part with an annoying smirk. Link couldn't help but pull a face at her.

\- "I learned my lesson." – He complained.

\- "And she will as well, only without as much struggle."

Link could see the logic in her decision, Impa has always been a wise woman, but that didn't justify the means.

\- "Is this how you convinced Aryll?"

\- "Mostly appealing to her desire to help you, she's a good kid."

\- "And did you have to do all this behind my back?" – he finally asked, more resentfully than he expected.

\- "Link," – Impa leaned forward, understanding shining in her eyes – "it was not my intention to undermine your authority. In the visit of Darunia last fall, I saw the opportunity to send her when he commented how much she had won his graces. You were too busy at that time, coordinating the preparation for the winter and fighting the council for their approval."

\- "And you took advantage of that to obtain my signature" – he supposed, Impa leaned back.

\- "That was Aryll's idea, the permission to take some of her classes in the KEC was, in fact, a permission to go with a group of researchers to Death Mountain."

Link puffed, the action moved some locks of hair from his face, irritating him. He needed a cut… and to be more careful around his sister. Who would have thought she could put such a scheme on him?

\- "I will read everything that she hands me more carefully from now on."

\- "She will find new ways, I'm sure of it" – Impa smiled.

\- "Don't say it as if you are proud of her" – Link complained.

\- "She is cunning, it will serve her well if she is to become Minister of Foreign Affairs." – He groaned.

\- "Zelda was cunning too, and she never pulled something like this."

\- "They have two different kinds of cleverness, Link." – She lectured him as if they were still teacher and student – "Aryll is a huntress, she is charming and knows how use it to her advantage, and she is royalty, she has the meanings to move people in her favour; Zelda, on the other hand, is a puzzle solver. She doesn't change things or moves hearts consciously, she takes things and mindsets as they are and uses them to her advantage."

\- "Now I feel terrified" – Link sighed in defeat.

\- "You are lucky, both care about you and will never use it against you."

Aryll, yes. Zelda, he wasn't so sure. Impa must have seen his hesitation because she moved on.

\- "Which leads me to a more pressing matter…"

\- "More than my sister's welfare?" – Link interrupted her.

Impa frowned and him.

\- "Don't be silly, your sister is undercover. Even more, she has sheikahs and gorons ensuring her protection. You don't have anything to worry about."

Link shook him head in disbelief, it was indeed silly of him to think that Impa would leave anything to the chance. This woman never ceased to amaze him, even after soo many years under her wing.

\- "Very well, what is this more pressing matter?"

\- "As you know Zelda is coming with the ordonian commission…" - Impa hesitated.

\- "Of course I know, I signed the letter yesterday." – Link leaned forward – "By the way, are you sure about letting her come back using her real name?"

\- "That's what I wanted to talk about." – She nodded pensive – "She answered me this morning, she just entered Faron woods and agrees that this is the most sensible plan. She cannot fit her old character now that she is a full grown up woman."

\- "I'm still amazed of how fast you two exchange letters."

\- "You will know how to when you both reconcile." – Link hummed noncommittally.

\- "We will see about that." – He ignored Impa's knowing gaze – "So, do you want me to ensure her safety? The master mind was never caught after all."

\- "It will be appreciated, but Link, there is something you're overlooking."

\- "That Zelda will be mad if we put anyone to follow her around?" – Impa smiled, surely imagining all too clearly the scene.

\- "That too, but I would not worry that much about her security, she has been travelling without any sheikah escort for a while." – That almost made Link laugh, he leaned back, more relaxed.

\- "And you agreed because…"

\- "Because she was actually able to shake them off." – He outright laughed at the distaste in her tone – "She threatened on cutting communication if I insisted on continue tracking her down."

\- "Let me guess. Was she sixteen when this happen?" – He joked.

\- "Fifteen and a half, don't underestimate her."

Link laughed again under the disapproving look of the High Chancellor. It was certainly hilarious to see such a stern woman dote on her goddaughter, no one in Hyrule – except those who knew her in private – will ever think it was possible for the strict Sheikah to have a soft spot.

\- "So, if the problem is not security, what is it?" – He asked once his laughter calmed down

\- "Gossip, I'm afraid." – at Link's confused expression, Impa elaborated – "We didn't have this problem before because the court was not aware of Zelda's true identity. Now that she will present herself as the daughter of Dalus Nohansen we need an alibi for her."

\- "She is your goddaughter, what better alibi does she need?"

\- "Link," – Impa looked at him seriously, almost wary – "are you aware that it will be suspicious for the Prince, who up until now has showed no intentions of taking a wife, to start seen a new and mysterious, albeit from a renowned family, woman in private out of nowhere?"

Link, who was at that moment drinking his tea, almost spat it out at the revelation. He had been so focused on getting in Zelda's good graces again that he forgot about how it would seem to those outside their inner-circle. The thought of having her around again felt so natural that he never even thought about the consequences.

\- "They will think she is a possible candidate to be Queen" – he paled, all too aware of the consequences of such a rumour.

\- "Indeed."

Both fell silent.

It perturbed Link how accurately he could imagine the ensuing chaos, because – speaking honestly – if Zelda was anything like she was back then, she will be a logical option to be Queen.

The Nohansen surname was well know through all Hyrule and its allies, as the members of Nohansen family were always loyal supporters of the crown. It was them who took Kakariko to its golden era, which lead the village to become the metropolis it is nowadays. They also helped the sheikah to get back into the good graces of the hyrulian population, and consequently saving them from extinction. And these were just the most prominent examples of what the Nohansens had done for their kingdom, for this and more gorons, zoras, sheikahs, gerudos, ordonians… everyone who knew enough about their deeds respected them.

And Zelda was the sole survivor of their extermination.

For Link to make her Queen, it will be like putting an extremely rare gem in the Valiant crown, and the thought make him sick. Up until now he doubted they could be friends again and now there was the possibility that all the Lords and Ladies will come to believe he was going to seek her hand in marriage. No, he couldn't allow that.

\- "How can we avoid it?" – he finally asked.

Impa sighed sadly.

\- "It's impossible, I'm afraid. We can only minimise the damage."

\- "Minimise the damage?" – an idea lightened up his face – "You mean, to use my uncanny reputation in our favour?"

Impa smirked, proud of his quick thinking.

\- "After the whole fiasco with Malon Lon Lon, the only thing the court and the common people know about your private life is that you are a workaholic, and that you love your sword more than any woman."

\- "No, I do not" – Link complained.

\- "Aryll doesn't count in this case." – Impa remarked, making him pout.

\- "Very well. But I don't think Zelda has gotten any better with the sword since the last time I saw her, so I don't think you are planning to pose her as my guard again. Much less as she is presenting herself at last as the Nohansen heir." – Link reviewed the possibilities aloud – "Thinking about an administrative job?"

\- "That would be an option, yes. But, goddesses allow and you two manage to reconcile, I believe she would be fit to be your close aide. You will need one now that you are going to become the Prince Regent."

\- "I can manage myself pretty well, thank you." – Link said dripping sarcasm. Inwardly he cursed the old laws.

\- "But you'll be better this way."

\- "I have Kafei."

\- Who is more like a secretary than a close aide. And, might I remind you that eventually he will go back to Termina? He must relieve his father one of this days."

Link puffed in exasperation, there was no way to win against this woman.

\- "Fine!" – he conceded forcefully – "But all this is in case Zelda accepts and last time I checked she was quite happy with her travelling schedule."

Impa didn't smile, but a sly gleam appeared in her eyes. Link couldn't help the sudden desire of running away.

\- "We will see about that."

Link shook his head in exasperation as Impa schooled herself, thanked him for the tea, and headed to the door so she could continue with her duties. But before she went out, Link stopped her.

\- "Impa" – he called her without looking at her.

\- "Yes?"

\- "Before I forget. Next time no matter how busy I am, tell me about whatever plans you make for those I care about. Is it clear?"

He could almost hear her laughter, even if such a thing was impossible. But Link still liked to think she was capable of producing said sound.

\- "I will keep it in mind."

Well, Link reasoned once he was alone, it was better than nothing.

* * *

Two days before the date they had agreed on to sign the treaty. A hawk messenger from Ordon arrived bringing them bad news. The ordonian commission would have to delate their travel to Castel Town until further notice, their guards had spotted some goblin scouts near the village and were about to send a party to eliminate the threat. It made him worry, so he sent a message to Sir Lerroy about the possibilities they had to help the ordonians with their goblin problem.

But the next morning, as Link was still discussing with Sir Lerroy the possibility of sending a squadron in case they had even more problems. Another hawk arrived with the news they had already taken care of the menace without incidents, but still will be in retard.

Impa was unhappy about it, but it was better than receiving a cancelation.

And it served to their plans, as this mishap cemented the rumours about him being in need of an aide that already circle the castle – courtesy of Sheik, Impa had said – into the old minds of the council. It made Link unhappy how easily they believed it, but he supposed it was to be expected.

And it also relieved him a little, that his encounter with Zelda had to be postponed even if only for a day.

Who said that apologising was easy?

* * *

 _Fourth chapter! Next one would be a little more complicated... for me, I have to taken into account a lot of factors and I'm not sure I will be able to make them reconcile in the next one..._

 _Which leads me to my biggest doubt so far. Do you really don't have any questions about the story? No predictions or suspicious at all?_

 _Oh, well. I suppose it works for me, as I don't have to deny any answers._

 _See you next time!_


	6. To Soften Rough Edges I

**Chapter 5: To Soften Rough Edges I**

From Ordon to Castel Town it was a two days' journey on horse, carriage, or waggon. It was faster than in the past since a stone road was constructed between the two places, but Zelda – perched on the second waggon's roof – couldn't help but yearn for the magic-fuelled train that crossed through the most important cities of Hyrule.

She knew the reason the tracks were keep to a minimum but still, it didn't help with her "bored out of her mind" state.

She would have loved to join the other ordonians in their commission and joke around with them, even hear the reminiscences that Rusl and the Mayor retold from time to time. But she was the lookout, she had to pretend she was focused in her job even if such a thing wasn't completely necessary in her special situation.

The upside was that, after talking about it with Rusl, she could eat as much as she needed – or wanted – for free until they arrived to their destination. Sadly, on the morning of their second day, Mayor Bo started to regret such a promise and she became infamous for been a "bottomless pit". The fact hurt her pride as a woman, but she still needed the food, there was no way to deny it.

At least he didn't retract, she could count her blessings.

The worst, sadly, came when Castel Town came into view. By that time, they had already crossed half of Hyrule field and the company was feeling more relaxed. Zelda didn't leave her post – there was still bandits to be careful about –, but she heard the multiple cheers they let out at the sight of the city and the animated chatter that followed. It was then when the worry started to kick in.

At dawn, just before the commission headed out from Ordon, she had sent a message to Impa inquiring about the meaning of Link's signature on her recommendation letter, up until now there was no response. This was highly unusual from Impa, usually she answered almost immediately, even if it was just a short phrase like: "I'm busy right now." The silence made Zelda felt uneasy, was something happening in the castle? Or was Impa scheming something? But, was this Impa's or Link's idea? In the past Link had proved to be quite sly if required, even if he wasn't as cunning as his – almost – foster mother.

Just to be sure, on the third day when they arrived, she reviewed her mirror book again while they waited to be inspected. As the soldiers looked around the carriages – under the supervision of Rusl, of course – to make sure everything was in order, Zelda searched for clues about this inconstancy.

Her findings were less than agreeable. Impa had implied in one of her notes that she was worried about the misconceptions her presence could cause in the court. The first time she read it, Zelda believed she was referring to her linage, but now that she really put some thought on it… If she met with Link and, by some miracle, they end up in good terms, wouldn't that rise suspicions between the Lords and Ladies? A monarch suddenly making friendship with a young woman he is not supposed to know didn't happen every day, in the best-case scenario they might thing Link found her agreeable enough to try to court her. But that couldn't be the reason Impa hadn't answered yet, right?

As they were allowed to enter the fortified city, the cowardly part of her mind was already questioning if it was _really_ necessary to meet him. Unnecessary rumours aside, the signature at least meant that he was acknowledging her as an acquaintance – in private – and as a guest – to the rest of the world –, but it didn't put them in friendly terms. As the coronation will take place the last day of the festival, on Link's birthday, she just needed to be in his presence that day, right?

The rational part of her brain was calling her ridiculous, Link will be her sovereign soon – not quite King but close enough –, not presenting herself to her Prince would be impolite, even rude. And that without mention how rusty she was when talking about political games. The probabilities of making a fool of herself were raising steadily, which make her feel as if she was reading a horror novel while knowing who is going to die next.

She just signed her death sentence, didn't she?

To try to get her thoughts out of such a pessimistic train, Zelda looked around. Castle Town hadn't changed that much from the last time she was here, there were a couple of new stores, and the central fountain was renewed. As it was early in the morning, many shops were still preparing to open their doors to the clientele, and below the light of the dawning sun the merchants brimmed with energy and charisma. It was the normal picture of a city waking up, but for some reason, the hustle of the shop owners made Zelda feel nostalgic. No matter where she went, there was always something different and special about Hyrule that never failed to warm her heart, even with the smallest things. How does it make sense? That your most loved place is also the one you want to run away the most?

\- "Hey, little miss! You can get down now, you know?" – Rusl called out as they were passing by the main plaza – "We're almost at the castle!"

His voice woke her up from her reverie, of which she was grateful, so she made an affirmative gesture to let him know she needed a moment to climb down. Rusl nodded and left to supervise the progress.

Because the roofs of the carriages were made of wood, flat and covered with a thermal insulation, Rusl suggested she stayed there the whole journey. It was a reasonable suggestion, Zelda agreed, as it will be easier for her to take down an enemy from a high place; and because no one would expect to find a person sleeping above a carriage, it added a surprise factor which served her just right if they were attacked. But after the first night Zelda started to regret her choice – even if it was the smartest – cause, even if it was spring, it was still too early for the weather to be warm at night. The insulant served its propose, but after spending some nights alone in the forest she felt kind of bitter about the cheery fire of the guards and the interior of the waggon where the women slept, she was seriously in need of some company. Her only consolation was that, at least, Rusl had set his sleeping bag on another waggon, having someone at the same height as she was reassuring.

Staying the whole journey on the roof of the waggon also meant that all her stuff was there as well, so she gattered them, making sure not to forget anything, and strapped everything to her back. The additional weight make her climb down clumsy, but she tried to dissimulate it as she could feel how some of the men in the company seemed to be waiting to help her in case she slipped. Specially the young man called Kamo, Zelda noticed how he tried to call her attention this past days.

Such a thing was dangerous, men in their 20s like him were usually looking for a wife, for that reason, even though she did want to get married someday, Zelda had to avoid calling attention more than necessary. Her position unable her to carelessly enter an intimate relation as she had to consider her situation as a magic user, the secrets she had to protect and furthermore the fact that she was the last one of her linage. The Nohansen name couldn't be taken lightly, even if now she was given freedom to travel around, one day she would have to take the responsibility that came with her surname.

Even if she wasn't royalty, to marry a regular man without the right credentials was unwise.

\- "Do you need any help, young miss?" – and here comes Kamo, he should have waited until her feet touched the ground, helping her right now would be too intimate.

\- "No, thank you" – Zelda smiled to him, ignoring his outstretched arms – "I'm used to it, do not worry."

\- "Are you sure?" – She ignored the question and keep on going down.

\- "Yes, quite sure" – Answered once her feet hit the ground – "Thank you, anyway."

\- "Yeah, no problem."

He looked baffled which made Zelda feel bad about the subtle rejection, but, she considered mournfully while returning the borrowed sleeping bag to Rusl and temporarily putting her things inside of the waggon, it's better a disappointment to a heartbreak.

By the time they arrived to the gate house, Zelda found that she no longer cared about the attraction Kamo felt. Nerves and anticipation jungled in her stomach as she walked through it. Almost five years ago, as self-imposed norm, Link always went out to the courtyard to receive those guests he deemed important. Mayor Bo had been friend of his father, if he still kept that rule, she will see him at the main entrance.

As she entered the courtyard, Zelda immediately spotted Impa, standing at the end of a line of servants who were waiting for the signal to help the ordonians with their luggage, she looked as serious and elegant as Zelda remembered. And, beside her, stood a young familiar man.

Link, of course.

Not only his clothes gave him away as the crown Prince of Hyrule, but also his hair. It was of such an intense golden that it even sparkled like the real metal. To date Zelda have never found another blond with hair like his, not even his sister Aryll had such an vivid color.

As they neared, Zelda noticed his posture. The last time she saw him, he looked relaxed and arrogant, an attitude that appeared to be unconcerned about her opinion, but his eyes were ablaze with irritation and misprize, the rejection had been almost palpable. Right now, he stood tall and regal, shoulders relaxed, hands on the pommel of his sword – which was in front of him like a cane, not on his hip as any proper sword should be –, nothing in his bearing betrayed his personal thoughts.

It was the stance of a diplomat, of a proud general in front of his army. The real portrait of the mirage she had seen twice when they were younger.

 _And this is my King_ , this words engraved themselves in her heart as Rusl and Mayor Bo advanced to the front and curtsied. These words, Zelda understood, were true, like destiny itself.

\- "Your Highness, estimated High Chancellor, my apologies for the delay. We, the ordonians, are delighted about the approval of the treaty and extent our gratitude to you and your council. May the goddesses return in thousands the grace you have showed." – Mayor Bo immediately greeted, surprisingly versed.

\- "May the three heed your words and bless this land." – Answered Link, smiling slightly.

As if breaking a spell, the small tension a new arrival caused broke apart and, with a gesture of Impa's hand most of the servants stepped forward to help the ordonian commission with their waggons. Tomorrow they will go to the space provided by the crown for those merchants who will participate in the Spring Festival, but today there was a treaty to sign.

As the others busied themselves with unloading, Mayor Bo and Rusl walked closer to Link and Impa, Zelda followed them when Impa nodded at her, even though her first impulse was going back for her bag.

\- "Prince Link, Lady Impa, is an honour to meet you again." – Spoke Rusl, smiling broadly – "I hope you have been well"

\- "Very well, master Rusl, thank you for asking." – Answered Impa – "How was your journey?"

\- "Uneventful, thank the goddesses. We expected to have another goblin attack, but it seemed they weren't as many as we feared."

Zelda didn't think 40-something goblins weren't many, but remained quiet.

\- "I glad to hear that," – said Link, also smiling – "we were just preparing to send a preventive squad when we received the second hawk telling us the good news."

\- "Thank you for your concern, your Highness."

\- "No need, Master Rusl, is my pleasure."

Pleasantries finished, Link turned to look squarely at her. She panicked for a second, before her manners took over. She immediately curtsied, bowing her head a little more than necessary, and greeted.

\- "Is good to see you in good health, your Highness."

After a moment of no response, Zelda dared to straight herself and look at him. He was frowning as she had expected, but neither was he smiling, he looked serious as if this was a solemn moment. But, after a moment, he did smile and it took her off guard.

It wasn't the empty gesture of someone obligated to smile, neither the bright smile he had given her so many times when they were kids. It was the sincere smile of someone who received good news. Simple enough to not call attention from others, but fairly significant for Zelda to understand he meant her no ill will.

But she didn't expect the words that followed.

\- "Welcome back to Hyrule, Zelda Nohansen, may you find respite in the land of your parents from your long journey." – He said it with the easy of something practiced, but his eyes were kind.

The awareness of how much her name had called the attention of the servants nearby helped retain her composure and contain the tears that suddenly threatened to appear. But, even when she schooled her face to not show how much it affected her, Zelda felt her heart throb and ache at his blessing.

\- "Thank you for your kindness, your Highness, may the goddesses repaid you in kind."

She immediately responded as it was expected from her to avoid suspicion and, when she curtsied again, she bowed lower, the ancient and most respectable way to show sincere gratitude to the royal family. Right now they were supposed to be strangers, this was the only form she could show how grateful she was without arousing uncomfortable questions. It had to be enough.

\- "Your Highness, if I may." – Impa intervened as a surprised and approbatory murmur started.

Zelda couldn't blame them, it was display no one have seen in a long time.

\- "Speak up High Chancellor." – If Link had been affected, he wasn't showing it.

\- "As my presence is not required until this evening when we are to sign the treaty, I would like to personally accommodate my goddaughter as soon as possible. Is that acceptable?"

\- "It is. Until dinner then, High Chancellor, Lady Nohansen." – He excused them, bowing his head a little in deference.

\- "Until dinner, your Highness, Mayor Bo, Master Rusl." – Impa excused herself.

\- "High Chancellor."

Both men acknowledged her goodbye and respectfully bowed, and then, they both turned to Zelda and bowed as well, smiling. Surprised and pleased Zelda bowed as well – it seemed she had unknowingly made new friends – and went after Impa who hadn't waited until she finished her goodbyes.

Following Impa through the castle made her nostalgic. She still remembered the first time she had done it, at ten and acting like a mouse expecting to find a cat at every corner. It was nearly comical how different she felt from that time, as if she was an entirely different person. It kind of make her happy to ascertain how different she was from that time; a person could never be sure of the changes it has gone through.

But, she thought as a familiar silhouette standing in front of the doors leading to Impa's quarters came into view, it was also a good thing that some things stayed the same.

\- "Lady Zelda, welcome back." – The older Sheikah greeted her, bowing smartly while hiding a pleased smile.

\- "I'm back Sheik." – Zelda curtsied in response, minding the maids that were out of earshot, but still could see them.

\- "That's enough, both of you" – interrupted Impa, words harsh but without edge – "wait until we are inside."

Both nodded, Sheik adding a "Yes, ma'am", and followed her inside as she didn't wait for Sheik to open the door.

\- "Impa, I know there is a lot to talk about, but my luggage…" – Zelda started, remembering.

\- "Don't worry about it."

\- "But…"

\- "Sheik will take care of it" – She interrupted her again, signalling the steward to do as she had said.

Sheik pouted, showing for a second the rebellious soul behind the faithful servant, but followed his mistress orders anyway.

\- "Wait, Sheik, you don't know which one…"

But the door closed behind him before she could finish the sentence, she had forgotten about that bad habit of his.

\- "Impa, this is…"

\- "Sheik can track down your things, Zelda, stop complaining." – Impa interrupted her again – "Come, we need to talk."

 _I also forgot about hers_ , Zelda thought as Impa headed to her office, obviously expecting her to follow without delay, _sometimes I wonder if they are not, in fact, related_. But no matter how much their behaviour aggravated her, she was still glad to see them again.

And apparently Impa was too because, the moment she stepped into the office and the door closed, Zelda found herself engulfed by her arms.

The High Chancellor was a woman whose actions spoke lauder than her words, although she rarely said any out of close confidence. So, even though Impa didn't say anything, she didn't need to, Zelda could feel the happiness and the relief mixed in her embrace. The fact that she dared to hug her was significant enough to show how much she cared. For a moment, it made her feel afraid of corresponding but, as such an event was as rare as a solar eclipse, she did it anyway. She had missed her godmother too.

Two minutes later, a miracle considering the demeanour of the Sheikah, Impa pulled away and quickly headed further into the office directly to the communicator stone.

\- " _Monsieur_ Octo, how busy is the kitchen?" – She asked to the glowing stone, voice steady as expected, but without looking to where Zelda was.

\- " _Seulement un peu_ , _Madame_ Impa. But of course, I can spare two servants for you! Some tea, perhaps?"

\- "Yes. Strawberry tea, some milk and refreshments, please."

\- " _Tout suit_."

\- "Thank you."

The voice of the kitchen manager brought back to Zelda a memory of a fat man with a funny octopus-like face, but she didn't have the time to dwell into the memory as Impa was already taking seat and signalling her to do the same.

\- "Now tell me, how was your journey?" – She asked once Zelda had taken seat.

\- "Mostly uneventful, but I found myself in an unexpected situation." – Zelda hesitated, but Impa gestured her to continue – "I was involved with the accident with the goblins, actually."

\- "You promised to avoid any conflict." – Impa frowned at her.

\- "As long as it was possible, that's what I said." – Zelda felt a little offended by the reminded – "But it was unavoidable, it was a horde of goblins heading to Ordon early in the morning, would you have left it alone?"

Impa kept frowning at her, but didn't answer the question, it was too obvious to say it out laud.

\- "Anyway, it was easier to deal with than I expected, but I'm afraid to say that now the ordonians know that I'm a magic user." – Zelda continued, pretending to be oblivious to her godmother disapproval. – "Thankfully they must think I'm just a Speaker, if their reactions are anything to go by."

\- "Explain it in detail, sounds like it was quite the adventure."

So, Zelda explained as much as she remembered, only interrupting her recounting when the tea arrived. Strawberry tea was one of her favourites, she silently thanked Impa for her consideration as she bit into of the sandwiches they had brought, she was starting to feel the weariness of the journey.

She told her everything, from the bomb arrows she created to the unusual coordination the goblins had displayed, she also told Impa about her talk with Rusl and Mayor Bo, and that she had implied she had been Link's assistant to avoid misunderstandings. It made her suspicious how Impa's eyes gleamed for a moment at this, as if there was plan taking form in her mind, but Zelda let it slide for the time being.

It wasn't until she mentioned her meeting with Uli that Impa finally interrupted her.

\- "What was your impression of her?"

\- "An honest and caring woman, of course. Why didn't you told me about her before or her about me?" – Zelda couldn't hide the slight reproach in her voice. – "If mom kept correspondence with her, she should be trustworthy enough."

\- "The problem wasn't Uli, it was you."- Impa sipped her tea, she obviously didn't want to elaborate into that answer.

She didn't need to anyway, Zelda understood it all too well.

While she was traveling, Zelda finally noticed the desperation she had been bottling up ever since she started to live in the castle, for so long she had felt chained down by her situation and her incompetence. It was true that the main reason she had started her long journey was the conflict with Link, but possibly, one of the reasons she had stayed put for so long was more about not having another place to go, or the resources to do so, than a petty dispute.

Moreover, back then she needed to learn how to keep her guard up at all times, Ordon was far too friendly, she would have immediately drop it drown, the castle had been a better training field.

Sheik came back by the time she had finished her report of the last few days.

\- "My Lady, the accommodation is ready." – He announced.

\- "Very well," – Impa nodded, leaving her cup on the table – "I wanted to talk to you about your plans for the future, but I suppose it can wait. You are staying until the coronation, right?" – Zelda nodded – "Good, we can discuss it later. For now, is better if you go and rest, you need to be ready for dinner."

Zelda groaned, when Link didn't mention anything about it, she thought she could be spared from formalities at least for the rest of the day. She should have known better, but she still asked:

\- "Is it really necessary?"

\- "You are the Nohansen heir, and my goddaughter. It goes without saying,"

Yes, she should have known better.

\- "Very well."

 _At least the food should be worth the trouble_ , was her only consolation as she stood up and headed to the door which Sheik was already opening, she was just about to go out when Impa called her again.

\- "By the way, Zelda…"

\- "Yes?"

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence in which the High Chancellor seemed to be musing how to say something, but couldn't find the right words.

\- "Impa?" – Zelda asked in concern, but the Sheikah only shook her head and smiled.

\- "It's nothing, just… Welcome back."

It took her a moment to respond because, for the second time, she was at loss of what to do or say as the sudden ache in her heart took, for a moment, her ability to think. But the shock was almost immediately swept away by the affection she felt for her godmother, she really had missed her.

\- "It's good to be back."

It would be worth crossing the whole Faron's wood again, only to see the smile Impa gave her in that moment. That's what Zelda thought against her better judgement.

\- "That surprised me." – Was the first thing Sheik said after they were finally left alone. – "I was sure the world had come to an end."

\- "Don't be mean. If she hears it, she will never do it again." – Although, she couldn't help but agree deep in her heart.

\- "I was not trying to be mean!" – Sheik defended himself while guiding her through the wig of the palace specially given to the High Chancellor – "It just… well, it was mind blowing. Don't you thing?"

\- "Drop it, the walls have ears in this castle." – Thought she couldn't hold back a little giggle.

\- "If you're talking about those guys, don't worry. They are all on missions." – That sobered her immediately.

\- "All of them?" – an alarm went off in her head – "isn't it too dangerous? To leave the castle without its guardians."

\- "Hey, I'm still here, am I not?" – Sheik shook his head in mocking disappointment – "Moreover, you shouldn't belittle the Prince efforts, mind you he has been putting the army in shape for a while now. It seems that they are finally living to their name."

\- "Link training the army? That's news"

\- "More like whacking them into shape… or should I say discipline? Recently he has taken upon himself to train with them at least once a week. Seeing the person you're supposed to protect doing better than you must have humiliated enough, they are now taking training quite seriously."

She could totally picture it, she had always thought that if Link wasn't Hyrule's Prince, he would have been a magnificent knight.

Since there was no a soul in the vicinity, they were carefreely walking and talking. But it made Zelda suspicious, so she had to ask.

\- "Why aren't any maids around?"

\- "Impa, of course." – At her confused stare he elaborate – "The next day after you disappeared, she ordered all the maids not to enter her quarters except for the regular cleaning. It's been this way for a while."

\- "What about your chambers?" – She asked worried about the Sheikah who lived here.

\- "Come on Zellie, we are not maids, we are Lady Impa's secrets agents. We can go in and out as much as we please." – He said in a teasing tone.

Of course he would tease her about such a silly question, Zelda fumed a little seeing Sheik drop his act as perfect butler, but he should have hold back a little since they hadn't seen each other for so long. Maybe it was payback for leaving without saying a proper goodbye.

And if it was payback, she thought while seeing him bury his hands inside of his pockets, looking more like a teenager than the grow up man he was. Maybe she will let it pass, she deserved it anyways.

It was in that moment when she recognized where she was.

\- "I won't be staying in my old room!?"

Sheik rolled his eyes.

\- "You mean: **my** room, don't you?" – Sheik sighed in fake exasperation – "You're not very sharp today, right, Zellie?"

Right, she was a proper woman now, in addition the heir of the Nohansen name. There was no way she could stay in her old bedroom which was, indeed, Sheik's. Maybe it was better if Impa hadn't smiled at all, the surprise might as well kill a man from a heart attack.

But, truth to be told, that was just part of the reason she felt so out of it. To be accurate it was the whole: "it's good to have you back" feeling she seemed to be receiving from everyone who really knew her. Even Sheik's cheekiness was more like a show of camaraderie than real teasing.

But, as they stopped in front the principal guest room, she couldn't help the muttering that came from the deepest part of her heart.

\- "Proper conduct is a real pain."

Sadly, even though she was sure it had been inaudible, Sheik heard her.

\- "What is it, Zellie? Wishing we could share bed like before?" – Sheik asked while opening the door for her.

She would have taken that comment for a reminisce of the past, if it weren't for the teasing smile and the lifted eyebrow. As it was so, the comment only served to creep her out.

\- "That's disgusting, Sheik!"

\- "Proper conduct is to avoid these things, Zellie."

Even though she told herself to not retaliate, at least for today, Zelda didn't regret kicking Sheik on the shin. There was a limit of how much you should tease a woman.

Still, as she heard Sheik laugh and moan in alternation while walking back to his mistress office, at the same time she made sure all her things had been recovered from the waggon, Zelda admitted that the feeling she was having right now was almost as strong as the one she was used to have nine years ago.

Perhaps, this was a sign from the goddesses. But as she couldn't be sure of something like that, Zelda decided to wait and see how things would developpe. Life changing decision were not always easy to spot.

* * *

 _Finally! Chapter number five!_

 _Sorry to leave it like this but I'm trying to make this realistic - as much as a fantasy world can be, mind you - and they obviously wouldn't be able to make up as fast as one would like, there are many things to take into consideration._

 _The next two chapters will be by Link's side, I feel he would be the one to resent more the changes - as Zelda can be quite oblivious to some things even when she is smarter -, so I want to try it out._

 _Thank you for the reviews by the way, it made me happy to see this story is getting attention even if just a little. Feel free to ask or comment, I cannot give spoilers, but I can resolve misunderstandings about the story._

 _See you next chapter! I hope I don't have as much trouble with Link as I have with Zelda._


	7. To Soften Rough Edges II

**Chapter 6: To Soften Rough Edges II**

The days between the hawk mail from Ordon and their actual arrival were quite hectic for Link. There was just no end for the paperwork that had to be done, both for the festival and the coronation. It wasn't even the actual coronation! They weren't going to invite anyone outside of Hyrule! Was it really necessary to send to the other countries official letters informing them about the ceremony when their ambassadors were, obviously, going to report about everything later?

Common courtesy, that's what Impa would say if he asked, so he didn't bother.

And the rest of the castle was equally as busy. At least he wasn't alone in this nightmare known as "arrangements", he definitely couldn't wrap his head around how such a small ceremony could cause this much trouble… but he guessed any event in which Ruto, the zora princess, must be present couldn't be simple. Regardless of the magnitude.

However, in spite of all the bustling going around him, a peace that came from knowing exactly what he should do settled on Link's mind as the days went by. It was a weird trait of his, as most people tended to feel the opposite, but it suited him perfectly since there was so many things he had to do and no time to be insecure about them.

As a result, the day when the ordonian commission arrived, Link woke up with a mysterious - but not unfamiliar - sense of propose. He wasn't sure how it looked from the outside, but from the moment he stepped out of his chambers a lot of people kept staring at him as if they couldn't recognize him. Even Impa sent him a questioning glance during breakfast while he ignored her in favour of swallowing his scrambled eggs as fast as manners allowed him to.

The feeling didn't subside when the ordonians started to fill in the courtyard, on the contrary, it overwhelmed him to the point that he was not only sure of what he had to do, but was absolutely sure he had succeed no matter the cost. It was a mysterious certainty and even so, not unwelcome. Link was sure he had felt that way once or twice before.

It took him a moment to recognize her, Zelda, that's it. She had changed so much over the years he wasn't sure how he recognized her. The once barley-brown hair had acquired a reddish glow, like the sun about to set; she was still slender, but the glass-like fragility she couldn't seem yo get rid of when they were younger was now a grace he had only seen in does before. Fragile, but firm and strong at the same time. And she now walked with confidence and propose, the way only the Sheikah could do.

Zelda had changed, but the moment their eyes met Link knew she was still the same person inside. There was no mistake when she looked at him with steel-like eyes; eyes that were always ready to face anything, without hesitation.

And he blessed her, even though he had only meant to express a formal welcome. And she had bowed lower than was strictly necessary according to protocol, the highest sign of respect someone of her rack could give him without declaring oneself a servant or indebted to the crown. It had pleased him and relived him equally, but… some tiny part of himself felt that such a thing was wrong, as if she should have never been meant to do something like that…

However the thought was so fleeting, like the inaudible whispers of the wind, that Link soon forgot he had had it.

"You look relieved, my Prince." Rusl commented once they were left alone, a hidden amused tone in his words "May I inquire about it?"

They were walking towards Link's office together, they needed to review the treaty one last time before the signing this evening. Impa had excused herself with the excuse of helping her goddaughter to settle down, and Mayor Bo had done the same as there were some adjustments he needed to overlook before doing anything else. So he commissioned Rusl with the important, albeit boring, task.

Which suited Link very well, he knew that right now some uncomfortable questions were bound to rise about what had happen a while ago in the courtyard, and there was enough familiarity between him and Rusl and he could tell him the truth.

"You may, nevertheless, I am afraid I may not answer." If he chose to.

"And good humour as well!" Rusl let out a throaty laugh "Must be very good news."

"Master Rusl." Link chided him half-heartedly as they made their way.

"I apologize, but it is quite amusing how both of you seem to have the same skill for saying a lot without saying anything." He excused himself, dropping his voice in case someone was eavesdropping.

"Is what happens when you grow up with a Sheikah as a role model." Link shrugged as they walked through the corridor, ignoring the curious gazes of maids and stewards.

"Fair point."

From then on, they walked in silence until they reached Link's office.

Zelda's identity and their real relationship had always been a secret to the inhabitants of the castle, but when he was 13, while he was visiting Ordon for the first time, Link decided to confide Rusl about everything. It was a decision he sometimes regretted, not only because Rusl - for some reason - liked to tease him about it, but also because it had been a decision taken in the heat of the moment. More instinctive than reasonable. Born from the need of finding relief from the stress caused by his responsibilities and his personal life.

At that time he was mad at Zelda for all the problems he was having, Rusl was the first one to make him see reason about the whole thing. So, even if he could do without the teasing, he didn't really feel remorse about his hasty choice, it had made him ware of his mistakes, and the man was the closest thing to a fatherly figure he had ever had. For that reason, even now Link was glad he had told him everything… even if it had earned him the High Chancellor's wrath.

After instructing Kafei to not let anyone interrupt them, Link went into his office followed closely by Rusl. Normally, he would invite his guests to talk and drink tea in the parlour, as it was more comfortable, more illuminated and neater than his office. But in the parlour the possibility of being overheard was higher, since it was near to the green area of the castle. Furthermore, everyone knew better than to go into the Prince's office without previous appointment. Everyone except Impa, of course.

And being honest, as a man, Rusl would not mind the horrible disaster he called office.

"Very well, now we can talk."

Link invited Rusl to sit down on one of the two armchairs and once he was seated, he took sit on the other. Both pieces of furniture had been spared from the huge mess of documents and books that he had been too lazy, or too practical, to move.

"So, about the young Lady…" started Rusl, roguish smile appearing.

"Not about that, Rusl." Link cut him firmly.

"Come on, your Highness, is the first time you see her after such a long time." Link found almost funny how the man seemed to be pouting, almost. "At least tell me, how are you feeling?"

How was he feeling? Link had to admit that talking about his feelings had never been his forte. So he settle with one word.

"Surer."

Of course Rusl complained about his decision of wording, but Link stood his ground on keeping quiet about the topic for the time being. And so, after standing a couple of well-aimed jabs, they proceeded to really review the treaty.

The process went on slowly and, obviously, boring for a couple of hours. If Impa or Mayor Bo had been present, it wouldn't have been as difficult as it was. But both men were better swordsmen than politicians, even if they could hold their own with politics quite decently, so the situation was unavoidable. Thus, once they were at last able to finish, it was comprehensible the sigh of relief that escaped them both. Or how Rusl swiftly excused himself with the pretext of making sure his comrades were doing well.

Link happily ignored the fact that the man practically had run away from his office.

As there was still time until dinner, Link decided to use it wisely and review all the important points about the treaty that would surely be mentioned through the meal. He couldn't slack off now that he was so close to the goal, more so when some councilmen - cough, Lord Galmon, cough - might take the chance to have a last word about their opinions. The ordonians were his honoured guests, he will not stand idle if someone tried to insult them.

Three hours and many documents after, Kafei knocked the door to inform him how mad Impa would be if he was late for dinner, which was an understatement in Link's opinion. But still he thanked the Lord and decidedly returned to his chamber to get ready.

His first impulse was to use the same clothes he used normally, the ordonians - namely Mayor Bo and Rusl - would not mind his appearance after all. But thought better of it as, since all this was supposed to be for the treaty sake, he was sure his councilmen would mind his lack of proper clothing in such a "formal" occasion.

If someone ever though that women were the only ones who cared about their looks they hadn't met his council. Sir Lerroy was a welcomed exception to that rule, though.

An hour and a huge headache later, Link finally walked down the stairs leading to the dinner hall. He had had to remind himself that today he wasn't supposed to eat in his private dining room, which had taken a few moments to settle in while he was on his way and he had had to change direction, so he supposed he was bound to make an embarrassingly late entrance. But, as he was rounding a corner, he saw that only Impa and Zelda were waiting for him at the doors of the hall.

It was a relief and a huge concern at the same time, but he stored the thought away when he saw Impa half smirk to him - a sing that she was very pleased - and how Zelda smiled and curtsied his way.

"High Chancellor, Lady Nohansen" Link saluted in return, taking them in.

He was used to see Impa in her formal clothes, a splendid long robe made of fabric dyed in navy blue and embroidered with silver thread that depicted some Sheikah symbols. But it came to a shock to see Zelda clad in a formal royal blue dress. Mainly because he had never seen her wearing one, but also, Link had to admit with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, because it accented her feminine charm.

For some reason, Link found this extremely unsettling.

But before he could dwell on it, Impa went down to business as usual.

"It's a good thing that you came here late, Link" Impa unbelievable said "I was thinking I would need to call you out for a moment, now I can stop worrying."

"Is there a problem?"

"None, I just thought it would be awkward for you, and out of character of me, to postulate my goddaughter for the position of close aide in front of the whole ordonian committee and the council." said Impa nonchalantly "So I decided we should pretend that you two already know about this, and move on."

Link frowned a little, confused about the change of plans. If memory didn't fail him Zelda wasn't supposed to know about the whole thing until he had made peace with her, what was Impa thinking? Sideways, he looked at Zelda, she was tense, as if she was willing her whole body to not move. He recognized the habit, she had picked it from him, when she seemed more like his shadow than his friend. It surprised him that she decided to keep it after all these years.

"Do as you think better." Link nodded, still confused about the sudden change and the unexpected discovery.

But, Link mussed as Impa went into the dinner hall after telling them to wait for at least ten minutes before following her, if there was someone he could thrust even in the most unexpected situations that was Impa. So he could relax in that front.

Now, the problem was the absolute - and uncomfortable - silence that fell between them the moment as sound of the heavy door closing echoed. In the past, even though both had been very quiet children, Link had always felt free to speak his mind, even if sometimes he chose not to. Right now he wasn't sure if he would be able to do it, nevertheless, he had to try.

"Z- Lady Nohansen…" and there goes his courage…

He saw her tense for a second before her whole body relaxed, she turned to face him slowly, pleasant expression neatly fixed in place.

"Yes, your Highness." She responded, tone soft but neutral. The only thing that betrayed her nervousness was how she preferred to look at his shoulder rather than his face.

For some strange reason that gave him the courage to keep talking, it was now or never.

"There is something I wished we could talk about…" Link saw her tense, the silver of her eyes fading slowly into blue. He had scared her, he needed to rectify that, clearing his throat he continued. "You know, there are some havens in this castle, you should visit them one of these days."

He trailed off, they used to have an old code for when they need to talk or plan about something in private, and "havens" was the word they used to refer to those places in the castle where they were sure no one would interrupt them, or find them in general.

He waited patiently for her to take in his suggestion, looking at the emotions only displayed in her eyes. From how they widened in surprise at his usage of their old code, then narrowed in deep thought, probably deciding if she should meet with him or not, until they finally moved to meet his own, silver shinning more brightly.

"Do you have many books, your Highness?" _In the library?_ Zelda asked using the code as well, tone still formally soft, but now laced with a tread of hope.

Link couldn't help the small smile that appeared in his face as tension left his body, relief that she accepted his suggestion and that she had chosen that particular place. It was one of the three secret places that Impa still hadn't discovered, and the most comfortable as well. Even if the topic was difficult, at least their bodies would not suffer the whole ordeal.

"As many as the stars in the sky." He agreed "Do you dream about books, my Lady?" _at midnight?_

"Every night without fail, your Highness" _I'll be there_ , Zelda nodded, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

There was no need for the code right now, as the corridor was empty and no one would eavesdrop in their conversation. But Link decided to use it anyway as a gesture of good will, a remembrance of their old friendship.

And also in case Impa came back and interrupted their conversation. To meet with Zelda without the High Chancellor knowledge wasn't part of the plan either, but if the sheikah could change plans, so could Link. Furthermore, this whole mess was his fault, if someone was going to set things straight it was going to be him, not Impa.

After what he dimmed to be ten minutes, Link offered his arm to Zelda as common courtesy demanded. He wasn't sure if she would feel comfortable with it, so it was a relief when she only hesitated for a second before taking his offer. Even if the whole situation still felt a bit awkward, at least they could be civilized with each other. And that said a lot of how much they had changed.

The dinner passed exactly how Link had expected it to pass. Boring, dull, and full of concealed hostility. Had it been in other circumstances, it would have been enjoyable, as the ordonians were a very lively company, but everyone was serious and tense, more so the councilmen, it made him regret the decision of postponing the signing of the treaty until everyone finished eating.

Well, at least it felt that way on his side of the table, from where he was he could see that Zelda was having a nice conversation with some of the most reasonable members of the council. A small spark of a long forgotten frustration blasted in his chest, but he quickly put it out, Zelda had never been at fault for his own lack of social skill.

But contrary to all his misgivings, the signing presided without trouble. Certainly it could have gone better, Link thought while watching how Lord Galmon and Ruls glared at each other when they thought no one was seeing them, but at least there were no major issues.

The whole business ended as well as anything that was forced to some of the councilmen could end: with civility. Even so, Link had the lingering suspicion that they were behaving only because they were in presence of the heir of the Nohansen and wanted to leave a good impression. It was almost laughable, if only they knew that Zelda had known them for quite a while now… but they didn't and they must never know.

Once everything was said and done, Impa excused herself and her goddaughter – who had patiently waited for her to finish all the procedures –, bided them all goodnight and retired themselves for the day for the night, leaving Link to deal with the rest. Surprisingly, he didn't mind. That sense of propose he felt in the morning was still there, faded, but there. And it helped him keep his composure and elegantly refuse Mayor Bo – and to his astonishment Lord Hayland, and some other councilmen –, who insisted about going and celebrate with a "well deserved drink from Telma's".

He wasn't alien to alcohol, and could hold his own quite well of need arise, but he had a meeting at midnight with Zelda, he just couldn't show up late and reeking of beer. More so when they needed to have a very long and honest conversation.

Now that he put some thought into it, maybe little bit of alcohol wasn't such a bad idea…

But no, wine was a two-edged sword, and his resolve wasn't so weak that he needed to use a stimulant to make things up with his old friend.

Even when he refused the invitation, Link had a difficult time sneaking out from their improvised celebration, he had to bribe them by asking some maids to bring out some bottles of the infamous cellar of the late King. That had done the trick and finally, some minutes before midnight, he was able to go back to his room and take off the elegant outfit in exchange for some comfortable dark brown trousers and a long sleeved olive green shirt. He used them often to roam around the castle at night, and make sure that the guard was doing their work properly. Most of the soldiers knew about this, so they have become more vigilant in case their Prince decided to make a round in the middle of the night.

That came to his advantage, no one questioned his motives for being still awake and roaming around. He wasn't sure if it would be as easy for Zelda.

The corridors were dimly illuminated with ethereal light, thanks to the luminous stones decorating the ceiling. Many decades ago they had used candles and oil lamps to light corridors and city streets, but it had been a waste of resources; more so in winter when nights were long, or in the rainy season when it was difficult to keep them from getting wet. The luminous stones imported from Zora's Domain had been the solution for that problem, they didn't provided as much light as fire, but they could be used as construction material and didn't need refuelling.

It was amazing how a former curiosity/costume jewellery material became the corner stone of the night life of whole cities. Funny how everything started with a curious zora sculptor that wanted a monument that could be appreciated even at night. Link once saw the huge statue in daylight during one of his visits to Zora's Domain, so he didn't really see it glowing – a shame, because the view of such gigantic monument to the late deity Lord Jabu Jabu glowing at night must be impressive –, but he knew about it because Zelda had once talked his ear off about that historic fact. Actually, she was the reason why he knew so much about luminous stones in particular, and many other things about Hyrule and its history in general.

Link was a decent reader, Zelda on the other hand was a bookworm. In fact, he mussed as he opened the door to the less illuminated library, she was the reason why they had eventually found the secret room inside the library and its many secret passages. After all, without her, he would have never spent so much time inside the massive jungle of books that was the royal library.

The library was silent and dark at night, the strategically placed luminous stones only serving to illuminate where you stepped. But that didn't bother him, he had walked through its corridors so many times that he knew exactly when something was out of place, be it sound or presence, the moment he stepped in. Right now nothing was out of place and that was reassuring.

It had been a while since the last time he went into that secret room – reason why Impa haven't found it yet – and because of that it took him a while to find the right bookshelf, an old thing full of compendiums and encyclopaedias. And soon after he spent some good fourteen minutes trying to find, almost blindly, the exact stone he needed to push. It was marked with a small relief of an eagle. He had such a hard time finding it again because the last time he entered the room he had been many inches shorter, it was quite embarrassing to admit it though.

They had found this hidden room when he had been bored out of his mind and Zelda had been Zelda rambling about books, the only topic she couldn't keep quiet about. She had moved a thick compendium, marvelling at how old it was, and left the relieved stone at plain sight. Curious and eager to find a better entertainment, Link had turned his attention to it, tracing the eagle with his fingers and, at some point, pushing harder than necessary. That had opened a secret passage to his and Zelda's astonishment, a fact they unanimously decided to keep secret from Impa. No matter how much they loved her, she could be a little overbearing at time and they needed space to just… be.

That was what their havens were all about, that was what they still meant to him.

To his surprise, the passage wasn't pitch-blank as he expected it to be. A faint, bluish light coming from the other end softly illuminated the corridor. Apparently, Zelda was already waiting.

Down the corridor and rounding the corner, he finally saw her. Bathed in the soft light of a small sphere floating near the ceiling, probably made with magic, Zelda stood near one of the many bookshelves hidden in this room, reading a book so old it was almost crumbling. She wasn't in her formal dress anymore, which was a relief in a really strange way, she had changed it for a simple cotton dress that looked comfortable enough to fall asleep in it.

She was too focused to notice his presence, even if the noise of the bookshelf moving out of the way should have given him away, or maybe she choose to ignore him, or maybe wanted him to speak first. He was just mulling over those thoughts when she startled him by asking in an almost inaudible voice.

"Have you read any of these books, your Highness?" She asked without looking up.

The question confused him, why did she want to know _that_? Regardless, he decided to answer truthfully.

"No, I never learned enough of the Ancient Language to read them."

"I see," there was no judgment in her voice, but Link had the distinct feeling that he had disappointed her "that's a shame, there are some interesting records here. Maybe they would have called your attention…"

Was she making small talk? It was so like her to talk about books when she wasn't sure what to say. It made him smile. And, with more confidence, he stepped forward.

"I'm sure they would have, but that is not what we should be talking about, is it?" Feeling bold, he touched her shoulder "Maybe we should sit down?"

For a minute Zelda didn't respond to his question, she just stared at the hand on her shoulder with a strange combination of confusion and surprise that seemed to leave her speechless. In any other circumstances Link would have retracted and apologize for his actions, but for some reason he decided against it. Apparently it had been the right choice, because soon after Zelda nodded and closed her book.

"Yes," she answered, finally looking at him "that might be our best option."

He waited until she put it again in its rightful place and then set himself into the task of lighting up the room properly, not a hard task considering that the torches scattered around were properly oiled, but still surprising considering that the last time he made sure they were so was three years ago. Still, he had pocked some oil in his pouch just in case with his flint lighter. He busied himself while Zelda took upon herself to dust the various quilts and pillows they had, once upon a time, used to sit or lay down on when they came to read, play, talk or simply take a nap away from the prying eyes of the inhabitants of the castle.

"Link." Zelda called him softly, just as he was about to light up the last one.

"What is it, Zel?" Link responded without thinking.

He froze and hold his breath after treacherous the kick-jerk question slipped through his lips before he could stop it. It must have been the shock of hearing her say his name in such a casual tone what propelled him to do it, otherwise he would have been more thoughtful. He turned around slowly when the seconds ticked by and she didn't answer.

She was looking back at him seemingly impassive, the only thing that belied her expression was her hands, holding a quilt far tighter than was necessary. Still, when she spoke again her voice was steady.

"Would you mind if I use magic?" She asked, apparently ignoring his slip. "I don't think I will be able to get rid of the dust without it."

That's when Link notice she had managed to end up covered from head to toe in a fine layer of the offending element. It almost made him laugh how ridiculously cute she appeared as she stood there, trying to look indifferent while holding a colourful and almost childish quilt, completely coloured in grey thanks to the accumulated dust. He settled with asking.

"Wouldn't you get hungry? I'm afraid I didn't brought anything to eat."

"I came prepared." She smiled, then hesitated. "So, you don't mind…"

"Not at all, please do so." He smiled back, pleased at the spark of happiness that shined in her eyes. "Though, you should turn off that wisp-light, the torches should be enough." He added before going back to the task at hand.

They worked in silence again, the bluish light went off as he was finishing with the last torch. He turned around to see how Zelda was apparently willing the dust to come to her hand and form a ball. He had seen magic before obviously, Zelda did it often enough back then, but he had never gotten past that first amazement caused by seeing something that goes against the logic of this world. It made Zelda seem like a creature out of the mortal realm.

Sadly, the moment was rudely interrupted by a loud growl coming from Zelda's stomach. The girl in question turned bright red. Link had to suppress a chuckle.

"Should I pass you something to eat?" He asked, smiling in spite of himself.

"If you will, please." Zelda nodded, "My bag's over there." She pointed at a space between two bookcases that Link hadn't bother to check before.

He soon found a loaf of bread and some fruits wrapped in a clean cloth inside the tattered bag. More food than what he had expected when she said she had come prepared, he wondered if she had asked Impa for it and if the High Chancellor knew of their whereabouts. He voiced his inquires while he waited patiently, food in hand, for her to finish her cleaning spell.

"No, she doesn't, I went to the kitchen before coming here, I hope you don't mind." Zelda responded uncertain, then added. "Should I have told her?"

"Not really," Link shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant even when he felt relieved "she was planning to have us talk in my office, but I believe this is better, what we need to say is no one else's concern."

Zelda regarded him for a moment, as if she was trying to find any deceive in his words or face. Link forced himself to keep his eyes on hers, ignoring the sudden feeling of embarrassment that threatened to heat up his cheeks. He was slightly conscious of how inappropriate this situation would be in normal circumstances, but this was no rendezvous, such thoughts had no place here.

"You are right," Zelda finally said, slowly, as if she was tasting her words "this is no one's concern but ours." Abruptly she closed her hand around the dust ball and throw it to the nearest corner. "We should take a sit."

Link nodded and signalled her to do so, still minding the food in his arms. Zelda arranged the quilts and pillows and took seat, leaving a good space so that both could be comfortable. Link followed suit leaving the food between them.

"You can grab something of you want to." She offered, taking a banana.

"Thank you."

He took an apple and bit it, pondering how he should open the conversation. In front of him, Zelda was already swallowing her banana and choosing the next. Something about the scene made his stomach twist and suddenly, even though the apple was very sweet, he tasted something bitter in his mouth. He called her without thinking.

"Zelda."

She stopped midway from taking her second banana and looked up, expression sheepish, as if she had been caught red-handed or out of guard. Her mouth was still a little full but she hurried to munch and swallow what was left, so she could answer in a small voice.

"Yes?"

It was a too familiar situation. Almost like their old escapades, when they were very young and carefree. Back then, he would lay down beside her after a long and boring day and simply complain and vent of his never ending classes, responsibilities and mistakes. But that was before he had started to irrationally blame her for all his troubles, before she started following him silently, afraid of making his temper flare even with the smallest noise.

It made his heart bleed and cry the sudden normality he felt, it filled him with a sadness and regret so dark and cold that they took his breath away for a moment and shattered his earlier resolves. Something must have shown in his face because Zelda moved forward, crystal blue eyes wide and alarmed. She extended her hand as if she were to touch him but hesitated in the last moment, unsure of what she should do.

"Link! What…?" She was shocked into silence when he, slowly, took her hand.

Carefully as if he was touching a small bird, he cradle it between both his. Back then her hands had been small and delicate, but the hand he was now holding was no longer those things. It was slender and solid, the hand of a woman who knew her way in the world, the hand of the woman who very rightfully decided she couldn't stand his treatment any longer.

He had wronged her, many times and in many ways, he didn't deserved her forgiveness. But at least she needed to know how important she was for him, she deserved a proper apology. So he did then the only thing he was sure could express the many things he wanted to say. He bowed, deeply, touching their joined hands with his forehead, and whispered in a voice full of unshed tears.

"I'm sorry."

 _And there you have it! At last chapter 6! It took me a while to wrap this up for many reason, the main reason was work, the other was more simple and a bit silly._

 _The truth is that I felt this story was going to fast and that I'm leaving many things out of context. Which it has to be that way since there is a whole other story behind this one. So I started to think and I would like to know you opinion you lovely people: Do you think I should write about Link and Zelda's childhood before I continue with this one? The whole "don't know what happen before" problem only concerns the first part of this story, for the rest there is no need to know much._

 _But still the doubt consume, please tell me what do you think I should do, if you don't like to leave a review a PM would be very helpful. Also, do you think it would be useful to have a beta reader? I know I make a lot of mistakes here and there..._

 _Oh well, see you next time!_


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